


Goddess In Grease And Grime

by shortbusgus



Series: Grease and Grime 'Verse [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, Mechanical Engineer Darcy Lewis, My First Fanfic, Past Child Abuse, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-12
Updated: 2015-09-24
Packaged: 2018-04-04 00:23:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 24,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4119853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shortbusgus/pseuds/shortbusgus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just because Darcy looks after scientists, that doesn't mean it's all she knows how to do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Tony was admittedly caught off guard when he stepped out of the elevator into the garage and heard blaring music accompanied by an intermittent metallic clanging. The music he knew, The Ramones, but the clanging, he couldn’t place. He walked toward the sound coming from the back corner of the garage, a fair distance from his own collection. He’ll tell people later, albeit with his signature smirk, that what he saw was a goddess.

His mouth went dry when he rounded a support pillar and got eyes on her. She was surrounded by pieces of an old six cylinder, bent over the engine block with wrench in hand, her glasses hanging low on her nose and a manic grin on her face as she sang along with the music. She was clad in a faded purple tie dye tank top that clung snug to her ample bust and well-worn unbuckled coveralls that hung low on the bottom half of her hourglass figure. Her thick, chocolate brown hair, usually cascading loose in waves down her back, was tied back in pigtails and covered with a black bandanna. She was smudged and spattered with all manner of grease and grime. She was glorious.

 

ooOOOoo

 

Darcy had taken the engine block out of her old beat up Volvo station wagon and had ripped it to pieces only to begin the process of rebuilding it in order to set the old girl to rights. Since the move from New Mexico with Jane, the car just hadn’t been behaving properly and up to this point she hadn’t had much luck sussing out the issue. With it being Saturday and her having the day to herself (even SCIENCE! takes a break when hot, Asgardian boy toys are in town), she had woken up early, tossed on an old tank top and coveralls and made her way into Tony Stark’s garage where her baby was being stored to perform some surgery.

Darcy was in her element and she couldn’t help the grin that practically cleaved her face in two. Being elbows deep in an engine, covered in coolant and grease is the closest Darcy’s ever been to a religious experience. That was how Tony found her.

She heard a cough and looked up to find him, a peculiar look on his face. Tony appeared to be deep in thought, his head cocked to the side. It reminds her of when a dog hears a noise it finds confusing which caused her to snort out a little chuckle.

Darcy tossed up a hand in a little wave and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “What up, rocket man?”

“What are you doing in my garage?” Tony asked, his brow furrowed.

“Uh, this is Phyllis,” Darcy paused, pointing to the car next to her. “She needs a little TLC and I live to serve. Should I not be here? I just assumed...I mean, you’ve been storing her since Jane and I showed up on your doorstep like the little orphan Annies to your Daddy Warbucks.”

“You named that death trap?” Tony scoffed and rocked back on the heels of his sneakers.

“Hey now! Hold up one second there, Señor Condescension, I don’t insult your...stuff that means a lot to you. I’ll have you know that this little lady has seen most of the continental US and survived an attack by a fire breathing, Asgardian death robot fueled by daddy issues. She’s a certified badass and is no where near being a death trap. Jeez, rude much?”

He walked up next to the workbench Darcy had taken over and looked over her work in progress, “You do all her work yourself?”

Darcy just nodded and went back to reassembling the engine in front of her, “Mmhmm.”

“S’good work,” he mused. “Where’d you learn to do all this, Shortstack?”

Darcy tightened a bolt and set down the socket wrench before turning her attention back to him. “I have a degree in mechanical engineering from Culver and worked in one garage or another since high school. This is my jam, my house, my church, if you will,” she smiled brightly at him and swiped a bit of sweat from her face, further smearing grease across her cheek.

“How the hell did I not know this?” Tony asked, shocked.

She shrugged, “You never asked. I’m betting you saw a chick fetching coffee and poptarts and decided that was my skill set. Professional gopher. Not the first time someone’s looked at this,” she motions down at her body, “and made an assumption or two.” She went back to piecing the engine together. “Gods, the desert did a number on you, miss thing,” she murmured. Darcy looked up at Tony and pointed down at the engine with the wrench in her hand absently. “S’like sex on the beach, right? Sand getting all up in the sensitive areas you don’t want sand to be.”

Tony barked out a laugh as he spun on his heel and walked in the direction of the elevator. “Okay, Lewis. Monday, you’re coming to my lab for a play date. I’ll clear it with your keeper. And put my tools back when you’re done.

“I’m my own keeper, Stark!” She shouted after him. “Always was, always will be!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to toss a quick thanks out for the kudos and comments. As a first time poster, it's very encouraging. I'm happy you're all enjoying the show thus far and hope I don't screw it up! 
> 
> Side note, updates will probably not be quite this frequent in the future, I just happened to have a bit written before I could muster the courage to post.
> 
> Not beta'd, all mistakes are mine and mine alone. Thanks for your patience, all.

Monday rolled around and Darcy bounced into the lab as usual, loaded down with beverages and baked goods. Jane was already in full SCIENCE! mode and issued a grunt in greeting before making a blind grab for the coffee Darcy dangled out in front of her. “Poptarts incoming, boss lady, hang tight. Visiting Brucie first.”

She sauntered down the hall with the other two cups and brown bag in hand. “J-Man could you do me a solid and open Dr. Banner’s door? Hands are full.”

“It would be my pleasure, Miss Lewis.”

Darcy made her way to the hunched over scientist as he hurriedly scribbled on a yellow legal pad. “Hey, Fluff’n’stuff. Got your favorite, darjeeling tea and a bear claw. Happy Monday.”

Bruce looked up at the sound of her voice and a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Thanks, Darcy.” He took the goods from her hands, fished out the pastry and sunk his teeth in for a large bite. “Oh...tha’s gooooo,” he groaned, nearly unintelligible around the food in his mouth. “Heard you have a meeting with Tony today,” he said after he finished chewing and swallowing.

“Heard about that, huh? You guys stay up late and gossip while you do each other’s nails? Does he braid your hair, is that the reason for the floofiness? I won't lie, the thought of you two having a pillow fight in tiny shorts may be making my lady parts all tingly,” Darcy smirked and waggled her eyebrows suggestively before pinching his cheek.

Bruce batted her hand away, “Do I want to know how the invitation came about?” he asked, looking at her expectantly, a single brow raised in question. He knew there was some sort of story behind the impromptu field trip, but when Tony had announced to him that he was stealing the intern for the day, he hadn’t elaborated on why.  

Darcy rolled her eyes, "Fine, ugh, you must be really hard up for gossip if this is turning your crank, doc. Tony found me in the garage over the weekend working on Phyllis. Think I blew his mind a little with the power of my awesomeness,” she explained as she sipped from her own coffee cup.

Darcy began tapping a finger on her chin while contemplating the ceiling, "I’m wondering if I should bring my own fire extinguisher or if one will be provided for me,” she mused. "Maybe I should wear a poncho, just in case he decides to make a watermelon go kablooey," Darcy chewed on her crimson stained lower lip and met Bruce's gaze, "I suddenly feel woefully unprepared for this," she confessed.

Bruce chuckled low in his throat as he shook his head. "You'll be fine, Darcy, he just wants to show you some new things he thinks you'll like." Bruce thought back to the day before and being not-so-covertly interrogated about every detail he knew of one Darcy Lewis, intern extraordinaire. He wasn't quite sure what was going on there, but it was clear that Tony was intrigued by the feisty woman. Frankly, Bruce was surprised it took the man so long to realize she was a kindred spirit. Not to mention she was gorgeous. He’d assumed she’d already shot him down with a well timed quip, but apparently not. 

“Any who, I should get back to Janey. I promised breakfast treats and I’d hate for her to open a wormhole with low blood sugar,” Darcy mimed an exaggerate shudder. “Stay classy, Jolly Green!” Darcy shot twin finger guns, complete with little pew-pew noises, and a wink his way before shutting the door behind her.

 

ooOOOoo

 

Tony couldn’t sit still and he couldn’t seem to shake the thoughts of Darcy Lewis that had been plaguing him since their chance meeting; when he closed his eyes she was there, the wry twist of her lips, clever blue eyes, and covered head to toe in smears and smudges of engine fluid.

He couldn’t seem to reconcile the sudden and visceral attraction he felt for her. Although Darcy had been living in the tower for a few months, they had had very little interaction with one another and never on a one-on-one basis. After their encounter in the garage, Tony was left wondering why he hadn't noticed how captivating she was until now. He'd gone back upstairs immediately after their exchange and attempted to dig up everything he could find on the intern, but there was surprisingly little. Becoming frustrated with the lack of information, he sought out Bruce. Knowing that he worked with her daily, Tony had hoped his fellow scientist would have more details about the woman, but was left disappointed there as well. Not having her life story at his fingertips made him twitchy. Or was that the want to have _her_ at his fingertips? Whatever.

“Sir, Miss Lewis has returned to Dr. Foster’s lab,” Jarvis informed him primly.

“Thanks, J,” Tony muttered. He walked into the open elevator and pressed the button corresponding to the level on which the labs are located. He subconsciously smoothed the wrinkles from his tee shirt and ran his hands through his hair as the elevator made it’s speedy descent.

He found Darcy sprawled underneath one of the machines in Jane’s lab, unleashing an impressive stream of curses about someone named Jethro. He skidded to a stop when he saw her and felt a nervous flutter in his stomach, unconsciously licking his lips. Her shirt had ridden up just a bit above her jeans, exposing an inch or two of her ivory toned belly as she reached and wriggled below the hunk of metal. Tony shook his head, snapping out of his reverie, and walked up to where Darcy was prone on the floor. He nudged at the bottom of her turquoise sneaker with the toe of his own shoe, “Hey princess, you ready to play with the big boys?”

Darcy popped her head out from under the contraption, “Yo, uh, yeah, just let me tell Jane so she doesn’t worry if she snaps back into lucidity. Janey!” She yelled suddenly, causing Tony to cringe and cup his hands over his ears, “I’m headed out with Stark, text me if you need anything. Also, Jethro is down for the time being, don’t use him or your readings will be all wonky!”

Jane didn’t look up from her notes, just waved her hand dismissively and made some incoherent noise while sort of nodding at the pair of them.

Darcy pulled herself to her feet and dusted her hands off on her thighs before yanking her shirt down into place, “Think that means, ‘have fun, kids, don’t burn the tower down’.”

Tony grinned and leaned in toward her to mock whisper conspiratorially. “No promises.” He took in the small shiver she tried to suppress and his grin turned smug. Interesting, he thought, maybe he wasn’t alone in this...whatever it was.

 

ooOOOoo

 

Not long after, they stood at the glass door that served as the entrance to Tony's private lab. Darcy practically vibrated in her excitement. He tossed a look at her over his shoulder and shot her a warm smile before punching his code into the control panel. The door swung wide and he bowed dramatically, gesturing for her to enter. Darcy let out a little chortle and snort before skipping into the open space.

"I feel like I should be hearing that song from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory when he lets the kids in to eat all his candy trees. That was Wonka's R&D lab, it just happened to have a chocolate waterfall," Darcy mused and drifted off to wander around the room, poking the different projects on various workbenches that ringed the room.

Darcy stopped in front of the wall where his various suits stood at attention and dragged her finger over the glass case before smirking at him over her shoulder, “Are these your version of oompa loompas? They’re going to start singing about how I’m a little shit any second, aren’t they?”

Tony laughed loudly and pulled Darcy into the middle of the lab by her elbow, "Jarvis, could you bring up the specs on the new Quinjet?"

"Of course, sir,” the AI replied.

A maze of holographic images floated into being around them representing the different aspects of the modified ship from the cockpit and controls to engines and rotors. Tony stepped away from Darcy and backed toward another workbench gesturing to the images floating around her, "Play. You can't hurt anything, they're all backed up on my private servers. I'm going to work on some stuff over here."

"Yeah?" Darcy asked, her eyebrows high and her voice a touch awed.

"Yeah, let me know if you need anything."

For the rest of the day Darcy pawed and manipulated portions of the specifications, deconstructing and changing aspects before asking Jarvis to run simulation testing for modifications she had made, her face vacillating between intense concentration and rapt joy.

Tony found himself distracted by her more than once. She was boisterous and a little bit silly, running around to different plans and fist pumping or commanding him to give her a high five when she made modifications she thought favorable.

He'd stare at her for long stretches of time as she stood in front of the 3D holograms with her hands on her hips and her forehead creased, deep in thought. She caught him only once, but as embarrassed as he was, he couldn't regret it seeing as she flushed the most beautiful shade of pink under his attentions.

It was around seven in the evening when Darcy finally escaped her trance and declared she needed to head out or miss her train. "You sure, Darcy?" Tony asked. It was the first time he’d ever used her real name in anything other than his mind. It felt pleasant rolling off his tongue. "I could have Happy take you wherever you needed to go if you wanted to stay, maybe have some dinner." In truth, he hadn’t wanted her to go just yet and was grasping at anything he could think of to keep her with him for just a bit longer.

"As much as I want to, I should really get going. Thanks, like, a million for letting me bother you today, Stark. I had fun. You're right, you do have the best toys." Darcy pushed her glasses up on her nose and made her way over to where he was sitting. "I know you're not one of my scientists, but don't stay in here too late, okay? Have dinner, go watch some Netflix, go to bed," she instructed and laid a hand softly on his shoulder as she passed to door. Tony’s skin tingled where her hand had rested and his heart gave a little clench at the notion of him not being ‘hers’. He wondered how he could go about changing that.

"Yeah, sure thing, Lewis," he waved, trying for an air of nonchalance, and watched her disappear down the hallway.

Tony cleared his throat and tore his eyes from the empty corridor, "Hey J, can you bring up the modifications Lewis made today, just wanna look 'em over."

The updated specs popped up in front of him, "Holy shit. Did you see the weight reduction she managed to work into the chassis? It doesn’t even undermine the structural integrity. She redesigned the entire fuel system, in only a few hours? My god, the efficiencies she was able to spot. How did I not catch these?" He muttered, hand running down his face and through his goatee.

"I’ve taken the liberty of saving copies of the new files to the private servers,” Jarvis informed him. “If Ms. Lewis’ changes are incorporated into the present designs, the increased energy output and reduced weight will result in significant gains in performance and speed, sir."

"Not only is she stacked, kid's fucking brilliant,” he breathed.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this story has gotten a better response than I ever could have expected. 
> 
> Thanks very much everyone for the continued support, it means very much and I hope I continue to please :)

Darcy was reasonably sure that some sort of time paradox occurred during the week that actually caused Friday to take an unnaturally long time to roll around. When it did finally make an appearance, Darcy was very ready for a relaxing evening in with her trusty pajamas, a pint of Ben and Jerry’s, and her Netflix queue.

The week had been interesting to say the least. Darcy surmised that Tony must have started a new project with Bruce because she saw him a hell of a lot more than usual. He came in and out of Bruce’s lab at all hours of the day, tossing both snarky and suggestive comments her way at every opportunity. The worst part was that she couldn’t seem to stifle the blush or smile that crept into her cheeks when he was around.

In addition to this new distraction, she was expected to continue with her usual duties and, of course, working closely with scientists apparently left the door wide open for anarchy to strike. That week’s agent of chaos came in the form of one Jane Foster and a half eaten poptart which she absentmindedly jammed into one of the open ports of a newly repaired Jethro, a much abused spectrometer that Darcy had fixed a half dozen times in the last couple of months, causing "him" to explode (yet again) and trigger the sprinklers, flooding their entire floor. After what felt like hours of mopping and drying, transferring files from sopping wet hardware to pristine, dry disk drives ("You know I don't trust the cloud, Darcy!"), she was finally able to hustle an extremely grumpy astrophysicist off to bed and head home herself.

That’s why it came as an unwelcomed surprise when Darcy heard a knock sound from her front door and subsequently identified the offending knocker via peephole observation as a rather sheepish looking Anthony fucking Stark.

“Stark?” she asked through the closed door, still not believing the billionaire was standing at the door of her fourth floor walk up.

“Uh, Lewis? Is that you?" His eye grew comically large as he ducked his head closer to the peephole. "Could I come in please, people are looking…” Tony’s gazed darted from side to side down the hallway.

She quickly unlocked the deadbolts and chain, “What are you doing here?” she asked as the door creaked open.

“Thought you might be hungry,” he held up a large brown paper bag that, admittedly, smelled phenomenal. Darcy realized at that moment that with all the hubbub at work, she hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast that morning and was starving.

Darcy looked at him and cocked her head to the side. He seemed...timid, nervous almost; his head hung a little low and he was staring either at his shoes or the shitty stained carpet of the hallway. She’d never seen the man be anything other than completely self assured. He’d always been confident to the extent of being cocky, pompous, even. He was dressed simply in jeans and a v-neck tee and his hair was devoid of the usual product. It looks so soft, she thought, and fought against the urge to run her fingers through it.

Darcy reached out and grabbed a handful of his tee shirt, surprising him if his little gasp meant anything, and pulled him into the apartment roughly, “Com’on, big red, before my neighbors recognize you and call TMZ or some shit. After the week I’ve had, I don’t think I could deal with the paps without going all Alec Baldwin on a camera dude.”

Tony stumbled into the tiny space. There was barely room for the two of them. It was one room, a small kitchen area on one side and a sofa, beat up coffee table and TV hung on the wall at the opposite end. There was one other door that appeared to lead into a cramped bedroom that had the bathroom attached. That was it. “You live here?” He asked incredulously.

“Uh, yeah, home sweet home,” Darcy said, taking the paperbag from him and settling it on the kitchen counter.

“You can’t possibly...it’s so teensy,” he points to the corner at a dark stain and greenish, black splotches. “Is that mold? And don’t even get me started on the neighborhood. Do you know how many unsavory characters I saw on my way here? I’m doubting that the car will still have tires on it when I go back outside, if it's there at all.”

“Hey, there you go again, talking trash about my stuff. No, it’s not big, yes that’s probably mold, and the neighborhood is really fucking sketchy, but you know what, buddy?” Darcy poked him hard in the chest, the clink of her nail against the arc reactor nestled in his chest audible, her voice rising with emotion, “I’m a fucking intern, I doubt my salary is on par with a goddamn super hero. This is what I can afford and it’s MINE. I don’t remember asking you to come over and insult me so if you want to go, you know where the fucking door is,” Darcy thrust her arm about two feet from her at the exit. She didn't try to disguise her anger, she was seething. The nerve of this man!

Tony lifted his palms in submission. “Look, I’m sorry, Darcy, really, I didn’t mean anything," His eyes darted to the counter. "Can we just eat? It’s Indian. It’s getting cold,” he gestured to the bag.

The anger drained from her face and her shoulders slumped minutely as she let out a deep sigh, “I don't expect you to get it, Tony, but I've fought really hard for the little bit that I have. I may be a little sensitive and I apologize for yelling at you. Uh, why don't you sit, I’ll grab the food. You want a beer?”

“Sounds good,” Tony plopped down onto the creaky, old couch and placed his hands in his lap. She came not long after to drop the food containers on the little, scuffed up coffee table and then made a second trip for their beers before sitting on the opposite side. She sighed again when the couch sagged and she listed into Tony’s side.

“It’s old...big surprise, right? Is this okay? I don’t, um, usually have visitors and it’s fine for one person. It’s kind of forced cuddling...” she trailed off. She could feel the heat from him, pressed against her shoulder to knee and was wreaking havoc on her train of thought. “I was going to toss on Supernatural,” she jerked a thumb toward the television mounted on the wall.

“Yeah, this is fine, good, great, even. Supernatural, huh? Who do you like better, Sam or Dean?” He waggled his eyebrows at her, causing Darcy to relax and shake with laughter before halfheartedly punching him in the arm.

“Don’t even get me started, Stark, my fangirling is a force to be reckoned with,” she thrust a takeout container into his hands and offered him a fork before popping the top on their beers and starting up the episode.

 

ooOOOoo

 

Tony couldn’t move. Well, more like he didn’t want to move. Darcy was all soft curves pressed against his side, her arm slung across his stomach, snoring softly and she was so damn warm. After the food and a few beers, the week had caught up with her and she had cuddled up against him with an afghan tossed over both of their legs and fallen fast asleep.

Tony knew her exhaustion was at least partly his fault. He couldn’t seem to keep away from her and he had realized the easiest way to be near her without being too conspicuous was to collaborate with Bruce. Of course, there had been no project for them to collaborate on so it had actually been Tony sitting in Bruce’s lab being a nuisance which led to Bruce getting fed up with the interference and grilling Tony about his intentions toward a certain smart, sexy intern/closet engineer. When Tony tired of waxing poetic about chocolate hair, sharp tongues, quick wits and curves that could only to sin, he'd fled to talk to Foster. He’d inadvertently distracted her and she stuck a frosted breakfast treat into a piece of machinery that caught fire and triggered the sprinklers.

The culmination of the days events had led Tony here, to a dingy little apartment in the middle of Queens, trying to make amends with food. And now the woman he was smitten with was wrapped around him like a vine. He was simultaneously ecstatic and riddled with guilt. He knew he should leave, hell, he'd managed to insult her two of the three times they'd been alone together, but she felt so amazing pressed against him. It was all he could do to keep his hands to himself and not curl around her, hold her, let his hands wander over those adorable pajamas covered in little pieces of sushi. He shook his head and pulled himself out of his all too tempting thoughts. Tony still couldn't figure out why she'd forgiven him so quickly. He didn't deserve it, didn't deserve her. God, what was he doing pursuing this woman?

Tony turned a bit to try and slip from Darcy’s loose grasp without waking her, resigning himself to leaving her be, a punishment for being a dick, even if it was unintentional. She snuffled a bit and shoved her face into the crook of his neck, nuzzling him. He shivered involuntarily as her warm, moist breath fell against his neck. He could smell the strawberry of her shampoo, feel her lips curved up in a small smile against his skin and a spike of desire took root in his belly. He moved again, this time achieving freedom and laid her gently down on the sofa. Her mouth turned down in her apparent distaste at changing positions and he couldn't help the little chuckle that bubbled from him. He carefully removed her glasses and placed them on the scarred coffee table before draping the afghan over her.

Tony couldn’t stop looking at her face, it was so soft, so vulnerable in sleep. He reached out and brushed hair away from her forehead before leaning over and kissing it tenderly. Darcy's tiny smile returned and he felt his heart give a hard kick.

Tony shook his head again as he left the apartment and made his way down the stairs and out to his car. He was in serious trouble.

 

ooOOOoo

 

The following Monday, after much reconnaissance through Jarvis to ensure Darcy wasn’t present, Tony made his way to Jane’s lab. He was surprised to see Thor in attendance, but decided to not let the Asgardian sway his plans. He wanted, no, needed, to know more about the woman who'd taken up residence in his brain. He wanted to know what made her tick, what made her...her. There was so much he didn't understand.

Tony grabbed a wheelie chair and, straddling it backwards, pushed himself up to the desk where Jane and Thor sat chatting.

“Ah, friend Anthony, to what do we owe the pleasure of your company this fine morning?” Thor asked, his usual large grin splitting his face. Jane just looked at him suspiciously, her eyes slightly narrowed. Tony assumed the distrust stemmed from the pop tart/Jethro incident, which she no doubt blamed him for.

“What can you tell me about Lewis?” He asked, feigning disinterest by picking at the grime embedded under his fingernails.

“Lady Darcy?” Thor boomed. “She is a most formidable warrior not to be taken lightly due to her small stature. She bested me with my own element when I first came to Midgard. I have taken an oath as her protector before the Allfather, making her my lightning sister in all but blood. In the rest of the nine realms she is seen as my kin as she has none of her own that still live.”

Tony’s brows shot upward, “She doesn’t have any family?”

Jane cut in before Thor could continue, “I’m not sure what business it is of yours, but no. Darcy was an only child and her parents died when she was very young. She was put into the foster care system and shuffled around a lot. Why are you asking about her?”

“Curiosity,” he looked down at his fidgeting hands.

“Friend, do you have intentions toward our Lady Darcy?” Thor asked, gently.

Jane shot out of her chair, sending it careening to the back of the room. “Oh no you don’t, Tony Stark! You have no idea what that girl has experienced in her life, she doesn’t need your particular brand of bullshit. I've never met anyone who works harder or cares more for people than she does in spite of everything she's been through. You don't get to notch your bed post with this one. You don't get to use her and toss her away because you’re ‘curious’.”

“It’s not like that,” Tony said forcefully. “It’s different. She’s different. Hell, I went to her place in Queens on Friday to make sure she ate after all the shit went down here. Queens, Foster! Did you know about the hovel she’s living in? I’m pretty sure there’s black mold that may achieve sentience any day now and the neighborhood is terrible. She deserves better! Why...why isn't she here in the tower?” he rambled. “Having her here was part of your contract so why isn’t she...HERE?”

Jane sat back down after listening to Tony's outburst. "She doesn't like to owe people things," Jane explained, her voice soft. "Nearly all of my custom equipment, she built it, said it was payment for letting her stay with me in New Mexico. Trust me, I tried to get her to stay here, but she said the gap between you two was too big, she wouldn't be able to balance the scales.”

Tony’s brow furrowed, “She wouldn’t owe me anything. I wouldn’t ask any of you for anything to stay here, I mean, I asked you to come. I hired you!”

Thor was grinning ear to ear at Tony, “My lady, I believe Anthony's intentions may be pure. Do you wish to court our Lady Darcy, shield brother? I had thought to try to match her with a warrior from Asgard, but I believe this match would be most beneficial for you both!” Thor clapped his hand on to Tony’s shoulder, causing him to slump under the weight. “But know this, if you harm my little lightning sister in any way, retribution will be swift and final,” the large man practically growled, squeezing Tony’s shoulder tightly.

Tony flinched, but said nothing.

Jane smirked at him. “First, know that what he said, goes double for me. Second, she's so going to eat you alive,” she smiled widely and Tony wondered if it was caused by the thought of murdering him or watching Darcy pick him apart herself. “If you’re looking for her, she’s down in the garage again.”

At that, Tony made his way out of Jane’s lab and to the relative safety of the elevators.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick warning if you didn't notice, the tags have been updated just a tad to accommodate the new chapter.

The music assaulted him as he stepped off the elevator, blues this time, and loud enough that he could feel the guitar and bass riffs rattle his bones.

She was sat on a stool beside a motorcycle up on the electric lift, slumped forward, elbows resting on her knees while her hands dangled between her legs, clutching a stained rag until her knuckles turned white.

Tony made his way over to her slowly and gently placed a hand on her bowed back, smoothing from her neck down her spine, trying to offer comfort though he had little experience doing so. She startled and whipped her head up toward him. She had been crying, her eyes were raw, red and her cheeks were still tear stained. Tony reached out and thumbed a track as he asked Jarvis to lower the volume.

“Hendrix?” he asked, a smile turning up one side of his mouth.

“Mmhmm, _Born Under a Bad Sign_ ,” Darcy clarified, sniffling a bit and rubbing at her face roughly with the rag still in her hand. “He didn’t even know the half of it.”

Tony hooked his ankle around another stool  and dragged it over to perch on before pulling hers closer to him. “You want to talk about it?”

“It’s stupid,” she mumbled, dropping her head again.

Tony carefully tipped her head up with a finger under chin, “Nothing involving you is stupid.”

Darcy let out a wet laugh, “You haven’t seen me after a bottle of tequila. Pretty much everything about me is stupid at that point. Ideas, conversation, jokes, basic hand eye coordination,” she squared her shoulders and sat up straight, seemingly fortifying herself for what was to come. “Today is...was...my mother’s birthday." Darcy's eyes closed and her breathing stuttered as another fat tear rolled down her cheek. "I don't even know why it matters, I can barely remember her face at this point...but it feels like someone should. Nobody should just disappear."

"I'm sorry, Darce."

"You don't have to be, m'still here, right?" Darcy surprised him by leaning forward and wrapping her arms around his middle, burrowing into his chest and hugging him tightly. Tony's hands smoothed down her back of their own accord and he rested his chin atop her head.

"You know what? I used to think my parents dying was a dream. I'd wake up every morning, didn't matter where I was, and expect them to be there, like it was all some nightmare my mind conjured up. The last time was when I was fourteen. I had, ah, been fostered with this guy, Larry, for a little while. Liked to smack me around here and there. I spilled the milk, I've always been so clumsy," her voice went so low, sounded so hollow, that he struggled to hear her. "He beat me until I was unconscious and just left me there on the kitchen floor. I woke up in a puddle of warm milk and looked for my mother and father. It took getting beaten nearly to death to accept they were gone for good. I realized that if they didn't come for me then, they just weren't going to come. There was nobody to protect me, I needed to do that myself. That night I ran."

"Jesus, kid," Tony breathed and tightened his hold on her, pressed a kiss into her hair. He felt her shrug.

"Wasn't all bad after that, stayed in shelters most nights, made friends with other kids on the streets around the same age, worked under the table in garages, put myself through high school and then college. Learned to survive, take care of myself. Now...here I am being hugged by Iron Man. Life is fucking weird." Tony pulled back and looked down at Darcy. Although a bit watery and sad, her smile was genuine.  He couldn't believe the strength she possessed. He doubted he could have done what she did when she was so young. She was fierce, a force of nature. Darcy pulled out of his arms and sat up straight, staring at the motorcycle again.

"You wanna tell me how you got Cap to let you work on his bike?" Tony asked, smirking over at her.

Darcy let out a loud laugh, "Funny story. I ran into Steve in the communal kitchen after kinda losing my shit in the lab. Turns out if you're a woman who is either presently crying or looks like you may have been recently, Steve Rogers will give you pretty much whatever you want. Like, I think I he was minutes away from giving me the shield." Darcy nodded toward the bike. "I was just going to give her a tune up. Something to have the metal under my fingers. Have control over something when everything feels so out of control. Know what I mean?"

"More than you know, Darce, more than you know. You want a helper monkey?"

Darcy flashed him a brilliant smile that warmed him like the sun before pulling her hair back and fastening an elastic around it. "Fuck yeah, let's make beautiful mechanical music together, sweet cheeks." Darcy froze and her eyes went wide. She grabbed hold of Tony's arm suddenly, shaking it. "Hey, hey...you think if I went upstairs and found Bucky looking like this," she gestured to her tear stained face, "he'd let me look at his arm? I've been dying to get my hands on it for months."

  


ooOOOoo

  


The following day Tony may have stalked Darcy...just a tiny bit. The day before in the garage had been intense, even after the rough edges had been smoothed with work on Steve’s motorcycle, loud music, and Darcy's favorite pizza. Although he was loathe to admit it, Tony was worried about her. So, to keep an eye on her, he’d appropriated a desk in the corner of Jane’s lab that morning with the guise of doing his mountains upon mountains of back paperwork and fiddling with his Starkpad.

He watched her go through what he supposed was her usual routine. She came in early with coffee and tea for Jane and Bruce...and him, which he hadn’t expected, along with some fresh danish from a little bakery by her apartment. After she finished making her initial rounds to ensure her scientists (did he now fall into this category? God, did he want to fall into that category.) were well taken care of, she started to look over all of Jane’s equipment turning them all on and running boot sequences methodically, all the while cooing and petting them like they were her children. He found that he had to shove his fist in his mouth to attempt to stifle his laughter, but she still heard and shot him an exasperated look while rolling her eyes.

“You talk to DUM-E all the damn time, don’t you act like this is weird, Tony,” she called over to him. He simply shook his head and went back to his work, peering at her through lowered lashes.

After her preliminary run through of the equipment, Darcy shoved herself under another machine and Tony let himself be lulled into a state of relaxation by the clink and clang of her tools from the other side of the lab. So much so that he actually didn’t notice when she stepped out around noon.

He heard, rather than saw her return. She was laden with take out bags and struggling with the handle of the door, trying to nudge it with various body parts to disengage the latch; from her hips, her elbows, and finally her backside while making little bunny hops (which he thought was adorable and couldn’t help but stare at), nothing seemed to be working for her. Tony chuckled and jogged over to open the door and help her with what was in her hands. “What’s all this?” he asked, still smiling as she hurriedly pushed highlighters, pens and random papers to the side of one of the work stations to make space and plop the bags down.

“Sandwiches and salads for lunch, good sir! Nutritious and delicious, purchased specifically for the care and wellbeing of scientific persons,” she replied, pushing errant curls from where they’d fallen into her face. From there she took off, doling out the midday meals to a grateful Bruce and a distracted Jane. She stopped in front of Tony and tossed a wrapped bundle onto his paperwork along with a steaming cup of soup. He looked up and arched an eyebrow in question. “It’s a sandwich and some tomato soup...I got it for you,” Darcy reached over and pat his cheek. “Please eat it.” Tony doubted he could ever say no to her and although he could foresee that being a problem, for now, he just didn’t give a damn. He hastily unwrapped the sandwich and took a large bite, never breaking eye contact with Darcy. She smiled shyly and loped off to her work station.

A few hours later and Darcy was still settled in her corner, her feet kicked up on the desk, keyboard in her lap, typing furiously when someone who looked suspiciously like a SHIELD agent sauntered into the lab. Tension settled into Tony’s shoulders as he eyed the man up and down.

“Holy shit,” Darcy scoffed. “Agent Tam, long time no see!” She pulled herself up from her chair and made her way over to the tall man dressed in the typical navy suit and tie...which she reached out and gave a playful tug.

“Hey Darce,” The agent said, an open smile stretching his lips as he smoothed down the front of his suit. “And it’s just Daniel or Dan, we’ve discussed this,” he chided, shaking a finger at her.

“What the hell are you doing here, Danny T? I didn’t think I’d see you again after ‘The Incident’.” Tam chuckled as Darcy did her best Phil Coulson impression and tossed up some air quotes for good measure.

Tony got up from his chair and moved around to the front of his commandeered desk to sit on the top and swing his legs back and forth like a child. He grabbed up his Starkpad and covertly ran a search on everything Agent Daniel Tam. His new position had the added benefit if giving him a better view of the events unfolding before him and he did not like what he was witnessing.

Tony let out a thoughtful hum as he scanned through the results returned on Agent Tam. Present at the appearance of Thor, Agent Tam was part of the surveillance detail assigned to Dr. Foster, and by proxy, Darcy, after the alien/god returned to Asgard. Tony pulled up surveillance video of the man and Darcy sitting inside the converted car dealership in New Mexico at opposite ends of a small kitchen table drinking coffee and playing cards. When the footage showed Darcy laughing hard, clutching her stomach jealousy flared white hot within him. He quickly shut down his tablet and tossed it roughly down onto the desk, turning his full attention back to the interaction unfolding in front of him live.

“I heard through the grapevine that you and the doc were now with Stark Industries. I had some paperwork to drop off and thought I’d drop in to say hello to my old poker buddy,” Daniel leaned in toward her. “So, how are you? You look great, by the way.”

Darcy blushed and shyly brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “Not to shabby, Danny. How’s life with a not-so-secret, secret government agency these days?”

“You know, I can’t complain. Just transferred into HQ and I’m pretty sure you and the doc are the only people I sort of know around here.”

“Oh yeah? Welcome to NYC, my man!” She put up her hand and was promptly high-fived by the young man. Tony smelled trouble. He could taste the dread, thick and cloying, on the back of his tongue.

“Um, Darce, I was wondering, you know, since I don’t really know anybody, would you feel like grabbing some drinks with me tonight?” Agent Tam asked, still leaning in closer to her than Tony would like. This is not good, Tony's brain screamed, code red, code red!

Darcy smiled and was about to answer when Tony lurched to his feet and darted between her and Tam. “Afraid she can’t tonight, Agent...Agent, I didn’t catch your name. She has plans.” He insisted.

Darcy looked completely gobsmacked. Her eyebrows flew up in surprise. “I do?”

Tony draped an arm lightly across her shoulders. “Of course you do, Lewis! You, me, dinner, some sort of entertainment. I’m picking you up at 7.”

“Ooo...kay?” Darcy still looked confused, but turned to Danny. “Looks like my dance card is full tonight, Dan, maybe another time?”

“Yeah, sure, cool. I’ll see you later, Darcy.” Agent Tam beat a hasty retreat for the exit, sparing a glance back at Tony who stood a bit straighter, puffed out his chest, and tightened his grip on Darcy’s shoulder minutely.

As soon as Agent Tam was out of sight Darcy spun to face him, flinging his arm off her shoulders. “Did you seriously just box block me and ask me out on a date at the same time?”

He nodded once and then cringed as if bracing for a blow, his eyes squeezed shut tightly, arms raised in a posture of self-defense. “Yes, that was me asking you out.”

"I can't believe I got you a sandwich," he heard her mutter before she took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Okay.” She said.

Tony’s eyes popped open, as did his mouth. “What?”

“I said okay, I will go on a date with you, Tony. On two conditions. First, I choose where we go for both dinner and entertainment. Second, you can’t complain about either choice. The minute you utter a single disparaging word, I’m done and there will be no redos or take backs. Do we understand each other?” She smirked and placed her hands on her hips, cocking one to the side.

“I agree to your terms. I’ll pick you up at 7.”

“Wear something comfortable,” she ordered. “The opposite of what you normally wear out. If you show up in Prada or whatever, I swear I’ll leave you in Queens.” She beamed at him.

Tony laughed, grabbed her hand and shook it, hanging on a bit longer than necessary and swiping his thumb in circles over her knuckles. “Deal, Shortstack.” At the sight of the slight flush that crept up her neck, Tony couldn’t suppress the waggle of his eyebrows or his chuckle.

“I’m so going to regret this.” Darcy whispered and bowed her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next...the date! dun dun duuuuun!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the wait for this chapter, all. Work has been pretty insane. Traveling like crazy, all day project meetings, and 12 hr days don't leave a lot of time for writing. That being said, hope you enjoy and feedback is always welcome. Thanks for reading :)
> 
> I have no beta so all mistakes are totally mine and mine alone. Sorry for those...

“It’s up ahead on the right,” Darcy said and pushed her finger up against the glass of the car window. Tony swung the sports car into the next open parking spot he saw and cut the engine. Darcy turned in the passenger seat to face him. “Are you ready to have the most fantastic Italian food you’ve ever tasted in your life?” She asked.

Tony looked around the neighborhood and cast a disbelieving look in her direction. “Around here?”

“Oh, you bet your shiny, iron ass,” She affirmed and nodded frantically. “I’m taking you to Giuseppe's. It’s a fucking institution. Family owned since they immigrated through Ellis Island. Recipes handed down through generations and generations. It’s history in your mouth! I know that doesn’t sound like a good thing, but I’m about to change your life.”

Darcy grabbed the door handle before Tony could say a word and scurried out so all he could do was follow. They met at the front of the car and Darcy slid her arm around his to cling to his bicep and lean her body against his. She marvelled at the feel of his sweater, not to mention the muscle beneath, under her palm. He’d done as she requested and shown up outside of his usual Armani suit. He had donned dark jeans and a blue v-neck sweater that she was pretty sure was cashmere judging by the softness. The dressed down version of the genius had definitely made her lady parts stand up and take notice.

Darcy tugged him through the door of a little hole in the wall restaurant. The setting was intimate, only a few tables in the little room, each lit with candles and most of them vacant. They were met at the door by a swarthy man that swept Darcy up in a fierce hug. “Darcy Lewis!” He shouted and spun her around, causing the skirt of her simple knee-length burgundy dress to swirl, before setting her back next to Tony as she giggled.

“Hey Federico,” she replied. “How’s Nonna Francesca?”

The olive skinned man let out a boisterous laugh, clapping a hand over his rounded belly. “She’ll outlive us all, I’m sure of it!” He paused and looked to Tony. “And who is your friend, bella?”

“Federico, this is my date, Anthony,” Darcy turned and winked at Tony. “Anthony, this is Federico, the current owner of Giuseppe’s. Giuseppe was his grandfather,” Federico and Tony shook hands and exchanged pleasantries before the couple was shown to a table at the back of the tiny restaurant.

After Federico took their orders and delivered a bottle of wine he stated would be perfect for the occasion, Tony leaned across the table. “Do you know everyone, Lewis? How many men do you have laying at your feet,” he asked, his voice low, private, almost possessive. It sent a small jolt of heat down low in her belly.

Darcy didn’t attempt to hide her cocky smile. “A veritable army," she assured him before rolling her eyes at him. "Are you seriously jealous of Federico, Tony? He’s so not my type...as in he’s very happily married and in his sixties. I roomed with his daughter, Isa, at Culver. She always insisted I stay with her family for holidays. Said she didn’t like me staying at school alone. She’s out in San Francisco now. I try to stop in and check on them when I can,” She cast her eyes down at her hands as they twisted together on the table in nervousness.Tony reached over and laid his hand over hers in a calming gesture and she marvelled at the feel of his warm, dry skin and callouses, undoubtedly caused by hours and hours in the workshop.

“Oh god, have you ever had a true Italian family gathering?” Darcy asked, smiling as she turned Tony’s hand over and traced the rough patches with the pad of her index finger. “I’ve never been around so much yelling, laughing and food in my life. I’m pretty sure one Christmas I went back to school ten pounds heavier. Nonna just kept shoving these pastries at me saying I was too thin, a complete and utter lie, by the way, but you don’t refuse Nonna,” She shook her head and took a sip of her wine as Tony chuckled.

“So are you regretting surrendering to my date terms yet?” She asked smoothly after they’d received their food and tucked in.

“Absolutely not. This is the most amazing puttanesca I’ve ever had,” he punctuated the statement by taking a ridiculously large bite and making appreciative noises that had Darcy smothering her laughter in her napkin. “The company though,” he held his hand up and made a seesaw motion. “Eh, may need improvement.”

“You are such a little shit, Stark,” Darcy grumbled and stuck her tongue out at him.

Tony burst out laughing.

 

ooOOOoo

  


Tony had never considered himself a jealous or insecure person. Of course, that was before becoming impossibly infatuated with Darcy Lewis who seemed to have a never-ending cavalcade of men at her beck and call...in which he was now included.

After dinner at the charming hole in the wall restaurant, Darcy had ushered him back to his car and given him directions to another out of the way locale. As he drove he noticed her stealing glances at him and he couldn’t stop the smile from slowly spreading across his face. Whenever he turned his head to look at her, Darcy would quickly look out the window or down at her hands, clasped in her lap. It felt odd to him to see her so shy when she had radiated nothing but confidence around the tower, like she was showing him something that others very rarely got to see.

“Up here, turn into the alley there,” Darcy pointed to the side of the street and he nimbly steered the car into the dimly lit area she designated.

Tony killed the engine and turned toward her. She no longer looked shy, her eyes were shining with excitement. “If I didn’t know any better, Lewis, I’d think you were ashamed to be seen in public with me,” Tony joked.

She shook her head which caused her chocolate curls to tumble wildly around her face. “Not at all,” She assured him. “Um...more like I want you to be able to enjoy this. I don’t want that big brain thinking of anything but what’s going on in there,” She thumbs at the brick building at her back. “This place gets monitored by the paparazzi and press more than you’d think. Lots of people get their start on this stage and people want to say they were there when stars hit it big, you know?” She stopped and looked up at Tony’s eyes. “I don’t want you to have to play a part for them. Tonight there’s no Iron Man, no talk about projects and profits for Stark Industries, no speculation on which model you’re dating this week. Tonight, you’re free to just be Tony.”

Tony stared at her, this amazing woman who didn’t want him to be anyone but himself. He raised his hand and cradled her face as he ghosted his thumb across the apple of her cheek. “Where the hell did you come from?” He asked, his voice rough. Tony leaned over the center console slowly, giving Darcy time to pull away, before he softly slanted his lips over hers in a chaste kiss he felt all the way down to his toes. When he pulled back he watched as her eyes fluttered open and her fingers reached to touch at her lips before she flashed him the most brilliant smile he’d ever laid eyes on.

“We need to go in,” She told him softly, still smiling. “We’ll miss the first set.”

After they exited the car, Darcy grabbed Tony’s hand and led him up a metal staircase to a door on the second story of the brick building they parked in the shadow of. She rapped her knuckles on the handleless door three times and stepped back, waiting. Within the next minute or so it swung outward showing a very large, imposing man with a shaved head. He was covered in tattoos and muscles Tony thought rivaled those of Thor or Steve.

“Englewood, up to no good!” Darcy crowed as she held out her fist. It was promptly bumped by the mountain of a man as he threw his head back and cackled.

“Lewis, where the hell you been, pretty girl? Starting to think you don’t like me no more,” The man’s voice was a deep, gravelly baritone and he was still chuckling as he looked Darcy over. He then did a double take when he caught sight of Tony. “Is that Tony fucking Stark?”

Darcy punched the large man in the arm. “Shut up, Julio,” She hissed. “Why do you think I’m sneaking in the side, you dork. I’ll make it worth your while if I can have the VIP table in the corner up here and you don’t tell anyone my date is in the building. And I mean ANYONE, Julio.”

“Yeah, yeah, pretty girl, whatever you need.” Julio stuck his hand out toward Tony, suddenly looking bashful. “Uh, Mr. Stark, it’s an honor.” Tony shook the giant’s hand.

“Hey now,” Darcy chided as she ineffectually shoved against Julio’s chest. “Stop pawing the goods, dude,” She pulled Tony along by the hand into the dark club and to a high table cloaked in shadows except for a tea light lit in the center. It sat next to the edge of the balcony and offered an unobstructed look down onto a simple stage that was equally dark and presently unoccupied. He settled himself onto a stool and she dropped her bag on the seat next to him before coming to stand between his knees. She leaned in close to be heard over the ambient noise of the club. “I’m going to get us a couple of drinks and talk to Mr. Englewood over there about the conditions for his silence,” Darcy smirked and shot him a wink before she tipped onto her toes and pressed a quick peck to the underside of his jaw. “Don’t go anywhere.”

Darcy returned to their little table within a few minutes and dropped a glass of amber liquid in front of him. “I hope whiskey is okay,” She said and scooted up onto her own tall stool at his side, crossing her legs and smoothing down her dress. He nodded and sipped from his glass.

“So,” Tony asked. “What’s the going price for silence these days?”

Darcy huffed out a little laugh. “I’ll need a hand with that one, actually. Not sure if you noticed, but our Julio is a bit of a Tony Stark fanboy. Truthfully, I don’t think he’d spoil your night for anything, especially just a few bucks from a tabloid rag, but he did ask for a couple signed pictures if I was feeling generous.”

“I might actually have some in the car. You never know who you’ll run into,” He explained.

“Ah, your ego is showing, Robocop,” She grinned. “Only one from you. I need to get one from Steve, actually. Julio’s boyfriend is nearly as crazy about Cap as Coulson is. Their anniversary is coming up, Julio wanted to get something special for him. I’m thinking a picture saying ‘To Marcus, All My Love, Steve Rogers’ will probably ensure Julio gets a little nookie on the special day,” She shrugged and hid her smile behind her own drink. “You should see them together, it’s sickeningly adorable.”

The following couple of hours found them listening to the live music and sipping their drinks in companionable silence. Julio kept all others from climbing up to the balcony, kindly turning them away before they could catch a glimpse of Darcy or Tony and with each passing moment he became more and more relaxed in the knowledge that he didn’t have to pull up the mask he projected to the public.

Tony took a cursory look at the stage where a woman wailed and hammered on an old piano with everything she had, performing some of the most best blues he’d ever heard, but quickly found he was completely enthralled by his date. He watched as Darcy’s eyes slid shut and her body swayed slightly, following the melody like it would carry her away. After each song she’d whistle and clap enthusiastically, but lapse back into her almost trance-like state as soon as a new composition would begin. Tony had always loved music, his tastes eclectic, but he’d never seen someone whom it seemed like music spoke to, every note communicating something deeper than he could comprehend no matter how hard he tried.

As the musician launched into what she had announced as her last song of the evening, Darcy pulled Tony from his seat to stand just next to their table and slung her arms around his shoulders as he let his hands fall naturally onto her hips and they began to sway together. “Why did you pick these places tonight?” He asked, his lips brushing the shell of her ear. He felt a shiver travel through her small frame.

Darcy pulled away and looked up into his eyes. “It would have been easy to let you set everything up, bring me to some five star restaurant where you knew the chef and then, I don’t know, the opera or something suitably fancy? But that’s not me, Tony. The woman who sits around in her tiny apartment in her pajamas listening to vinyl on a record player she scored at a flea market for three bucks, who drinks milk unapologetically from the carton because she hates washing dishes, whose favorite dessert is bubblegum ice cream, whose favorite food is Nonna Francesca’s lasagna or pepperoni and mushroom pizza, that’s who I am. I brought you to these places, because I wanted you to see me. Now you have enough information to climb out of your head and away from whatever picture of me you’ve made in there and make an informed decision on what you may be getting into.”

“You really think I don’t know you, Darcy?" He pulled her back into his arms and leaned forward to nuzzle the crook of her neck. "I know that you love easily and don’t expect anything in return. You take care of those who matter to you, even when they don't show you much in the way of thanks. You’d rather make others happy than seek out happiness of your own. You're so smart, but don’t seem to want anyone to know. You’re quick witted and funny, but you hide yourself away behind all that snark. You’re fast to laugh and when you do it’s with your entire body. I’ve never seen anything as beautiful or free as you when you’re working in the garage covered in oil or listening to music like you were tonight. I know you.”

Darcy’s mouth hung open slightly, her eyes wide in disbelief. “I...I don’t know what…” Her voice trailed off. Suddenly her hands were tangled in Tony’s hair and yanking him down to her. She caught his lips in a searing kiss, a polar opposite to the one they’d shared in the car earlier. He felt her tongue sweep against the seam of his lips and he let out a small groan as he opened his mouth and felt her tongue slip inside to tangle with his own. She tasted faintly of whiskey and her cherry lip gloss. His arms curved around her, one locked around her waist to pull her hips snugly against his and the other running up her back to grip the back of her neck. Tony pulled back and sucked her bottom lip lightly, causing Darcy to whimper softly as he broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers. Darcy’s pupils were blown wide, just a sliver of her ocean blue irises visible and her lips were red and slightly swollen.

Tony couldn’t resist and dipped down for another quick sip of her lips. “We should get you home,” he whispered.


	6. Chapter 6

“A whole week?” Jane asked.

“Yep,” Darcy answered, popping the “p” loudly.

“What happened on the date?”

“That’s what I don’t understand, Janey, I thought it was awesome. True, he didn’t tell me he had a great time, but he seemed to enjoy himself and that kiss...holy shit…you don’t kiss like that if you don’t mean something by it.”

Jane leaned against the desk they were sharing while eating lunch and propped her chin in the palm of her hand. “Well, what happened after the kiss?”

Darcy shrugged, but she frowned just slightly. “He took me home, kissed my cheek and that was that. Seriously, I don’t know if I did something wrong, or what. I think Tony’s actively avoiding me. He hasn’t been down here since last Friday and when I went up to his personal R&D level, Jarvis told me he was out…” Darcy blew out a deep breath. “I’ve had shitty dates before, you know? This wasn’t a shitty date. I really thought we connected. I think I like him, Jane,” She said sullenly.

Jane reached over and squeezed Darcy’s shoulder quickly. “Well, you’re amazing and if he doesn’t realize that, he’s an idiot and he doesn’t deserve you.”

Darcy smiled weakly, although it didn’t reach her eyes, and laid her hand over Jane’s. “You’re the best, bosslady.”

  
  


ooOOOoo

  
  


Between meetings with SHIELD, his R&D people and his legal team, Tony had barely been in the Tower except for a scattered hour or two of sleep for the last week. He scrubbed his hands over his face as the elevator sped up to it’s destination, intent on falling onto the nearest semi-comfortable surface and passing out for the next day or so.

The doors slid open as the muted tone sounded, but instead of being greeted with a view of his penthouse floor Tony was presented instead with the lab floor and Darcy, with a large stack of file folders clasped to her chest like a shield. Her eyes grew large and a pink flush broke out on her cheeks when she caught sight of him. She immediately started chewing on her lush bottom lip. Tony’s breath left him in a sudden rush.

“Darcy,” he breathed. She turned on her sneaker clad heel and rushed down the hall in the opposite direction. The elevator doors slid closed once again and it began its ascent once again.

“Uh, Jarvis, do you know anything about what just happened?” Tony asked his AI.

“I believe so, sir,” Jarvis replied. “If I may." A recording started to play in the elevator. It sounded like a conversation between Jane and Darcy. Speaking of the date Tony and Darcy had shared...and her belief that he'd been trying to avoid her for the past week.

"Oh fuck," he groaned into his hands.

 

ooOOOoo

 

After the unexpected meeting with Tony and the elevator, Darcy had locked herself in an out of the way supply closet in the furthest corner of the lab floor to be mortified all by her lonesome. She didn’t want any more commiseration from Jane, who, although had her heart in the right place, also had the undying devotion of the fucking god of thunder.

“Jarvis?” She asked, her face turned up toward the ceiling of the cramped closet.

“Yes, Ms. Lewis, how may I be of service?”

“Could you please engage privacy protocol Delta, passcode is ‘ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone’.”

“Privacy protocol Delta is now active and will expire upon your exit of the tower,” The AI told her.

Darcy smiled before thanking him. She had formed a special bond with Tony’s artificial intelligence since coming to work in the tower. She treated him with the utmost respect and he seemed to return the sentiment.

Jarvis had allowed her to set up a special privacy mode that kept her off everyone’s radar, if need be. It had been spawned after a particularly harrowing encounter with the villain of the week. She had paced in the common room until everyone had trickled in, relatively unharmed. After fussing over the team she was emotionally worn out and had become a bit weepy, much to her own mortification. She’d run and hid. Darcy didn’t need to be coddled, she had just needed to be alone until she could pull her shit together or leave the premises, but the team hadn’t seen it that way and enlisted Jarvis’ services to locate her. That day she had a heart to heart with the AI and they’d come to an understanding. She loved all members of the Avengers and, by extension, their significant others, but working and being friends with heroes and geniuses was exhausting; there were times when she needed time alone, times when she couldn’t leave the confines of the tower. For those times, privacy protocol Delta and her passcode were born.

She felt foolish. Darcy had purposefully kept to herself so far as dating went and she did so on purpose. People and connections made you vulnerable. You got used to having them around, depended on someone else and before you knew it, they were gone and you had to learn to fend for yourself all over again. Darcy had gone through that scenario enough for a lifetime and had no interest in doing it again for the sake of love or companionship.

The predominant thought she’d had for the past week was why on earth she had agreed to go out with Tony Stark in the first place. She could have shut him and his stupid posturing down in five words or less, gone out with Danny, probably had some laughs and maybe some not completely horrible sex, and gone about her life. Instead, she had wanted something...more. She felt so stupid and naive.

Darcy pulled her phone from her pocket and perched on a stack of boxes shoved into the corner of the darkened storage closet. She needed one of two things, a weekend by herself with a bottle of tequila, an incredibly greasy pizza and a pint of ice cream or an engine to lose herself in. Where she couldn’t stand being in the tower any longer, including the garage, she was pretty sure she knew what her weekend was going to look like.

She shot a quick text to Jane, telling her that she wasn’t feeling well and was going home for the rest of the day. She received a reply back in short order telling her to call if she needed anything and to not bother coming in Saturday, Jane would use Thor as an assistant. Darcy giggled as her imagination drew the picture of Thor stuffed into a lab coat about ten times too small before she got up and cracked the door to her hiding place open to ensure the coast was clear and darted for the stair well. Elevators be damned, she thought, she was determined not to have a repeat of the previous encounter, no matter how slight the chances.

She managed to make her way down to the ground floor and out the glass expanse of the front of Stark Tower without any run ins with genius, billionaires, for which Darcy was extremely grateful.

Darcy received the first call when she was standing in the subway car. Her phone began ringing with a tone she was unfamiliar with. When she looked at the screen it announced the call was coming from Tony. Her eyebrows shot up. She didn’t have Tony’s number, she was sure of it. She pressed the button to send the call to voicemail and proceeded to shove the electronic back into her back pocket.

The second call came not long afterward, while she was roaming the aisles of the little grocer reasonably close to her place in Queens. She needed milk and coffee and, of course, ice cream. Her meager salary as a lab assistant didn’t afford her much in the way of extraneous purchases, but this weekend was an exception. This ice cream was a necessity, not an indulgence. A successful weekend of wallowing was a delicate recipe of sugar, grease and alcohol and it would hopefully put her back on steady feet where she could interact with Tony at work and not be bothered by how easily he had brushed her off.

The phone rang and sounded louder than it had on the subway. Darcy pulled the phone from her pocket and saw Tony’s name flashing on the screen. She shook her head and declined the call, this time silencing her phone as well before putting it away. Darcy quickly made her way to the front of the store and paid for her purchases before walking the rest of the way to her apartment.

Darcy trudged up the stairs of her building, keyed into her place and dropped all of her things by the door. She shoved the milk into her tiny half fridge and then then hauled herself into the bathroom for a shower. She propped her phone on the edge of the sink before climbing into the shower stall. She could hear the phone vibrating over the sound of the water and just grumbled about entitled assholes as she washed and rinsed her long, thick hair. Once she was finished and toweled off, Darcy slipped into her Hawkeye sleep pants, a gift from Clint (he insisted he was her favorite Avenger), before settling on the battered old couch wrapped up in her ugly afghan. The calls, and her denial of them, had been coming steadily and when she looked at her phone she saw that she had multiple voicemails waiting for her now as well. Darcy sighed and tipped sideways, pulling her knees up to her chest. It wasn’t long before she fell asleep, curled in a ball, hugging herself tightly and wishing it was someone else hugging her for a change.

  
  


ooOOOoo

  
  


Tony slumped against the back of the sofa and tossed his phone next to him. He knew he wasn’t good at this...this relationship...stuff; he’d survived this long on strings of meaningless encounters with women that lusted more after his wallet than him as a person, but he couldn’t believe he’d screwed this thing up with Darcy before it had even begun.

He had tried to find her after she ran from him earlier, but had little luck. Darcy had somehow won over Jarvis and he refused to tell Tony where she had hidden herself away. He had no idea when they had formed such a bond, but he was less than pleased to be stonewalled by his own coding.

So, Tony was left with the only form of communication he had, his Starkphone. He’d tried to call her all afternoon to try to explain himself; that he wasn’t trying to avoid her, that he had wanted to see her more than anything all week, but he was doing something he couldn’t include her in, not yet. She refused to answer her phone so he’d resorted to leaving her what he was sure were increasingly desperate voicemails and then launched into text territory.

He shot a cursory look at the clock across the room and realized it had been nearly 48 hours since he’d slept last. Tony huffed out a sigh and grabbed up his phone for one last attempt. If he could talk to her, he could fix this. He had to try. He quickly tapped out one final message and with that, Tony tipped his head against the back of the couch and promptly passed out with his phone clutched to his chest.

  
  


ooOOOoo

  
  


Darcy woke with a start that morning, or more like afternoon, with the nightmare still fresh within her mind. She had found that the incidents in New Mexico and London tended to bleed into her dreams when she’d had a particularly long or trying day. It appeared that yesterday fell into that category. She sat up on the couch and stretched her arms above her head before reaching to the scarred coffee table for her phone.

“Damn,” she muttered under her breath when she saw the ten missed calls, seven voicemails and five text messages, nearly all from Stark. She skipped Tony’s messages for now and found one from Jane with a selfie of her in front of Thor, both wearing huge grins and obviously within the lab. At least they seemed to be getting along okay without her, she could stay safely ensconced within her apartment without feeling guilty for the next couple days.

She couldn’t make herself face the voicemail messages just yet so Darcy pulled up the string of texts.

_Please answer your phone Darcy._

_Where are you? Are you okay? Can you just let me know if you’ve left the Tower? Jarvis can’t locate you._

_Okay, not that he couldn’t locate you, he refused to locate you. What the fuck is Delta protocol? Did you reprogram Jarvis?! NOT COOL LEWIS._

_Jane told me you’re not feeling well and I’m an asshole. Feel better._

_Penthouse tonight, 8 pm, let me explain. Please?_

The last was sent just a few hours prior. Darcy unconsciously pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and chewed it pensively. He deserved a chance to say something, right? Of course, he’d had all week to say _something_ and instead had opted to say nothing, not a word. Maybe the chance to say something was hers. Hell, she deserved a word or two. He’d basically given her carte blanche to say whatever she wanted, right to his face, and she’d be damned if she wasn’t going to take it.

Darcy bounced up off the couch, tossing the blanket aside. She strode into her room and began rummaging through her closet. If she was going to give Tony Stark a piece of her damn mind, she was determined to look good doing it.

  
  


ooOOOoo

  
  


Tony stood in his kitchen, in front of his wide open fridge, tapping his foot restlessly. It was half past seven already. He’d dragged himself from the couch and into a shower about an hour ago after having slept his entire day away. Now in bare feet and an old pair of jeans and a tee shirt, he tried to determine if there was enough of anything on premises to actually concoct something resembling a meal.

“Sir,” Jarvis said. “Miss Lewis is being transported to the penthouse.”

Tony scrubbed his hands through his hair, undoubtedly making it a bit more wild for his troubles, before muttering his thanks and making his way over to the elevator doors. He nervously fiddled with this hands and then settled on clasping them behind his back to stop the uncontrollable fidgeting.

The elevator chimed, the doors slid open and all of the air in Tony’s lungs rushed out like he’d been punched square in the gut. Darcy stood in the center of the small space, a bag settled on her proud shoulders, her back ramrod straight. She was wearing heels, something Tony couldn’t remember ever seeing her do before, and an emerald green dress in a soft material, satin maybe, that featured a sweetheart neckline, cap sleeves and an a-line skirt that stopped just barely below her knees. She was devastating.

Darcy strode out of the cubicle and stopped a couple of feet in front of him. “What do you want, Tony?” She asked. She sounded resigned, tired, and Tony instantly felt horrible all over again. He wasn’t exactly sure what she was feeling in that moment, but he did understand that it wasn’t her normal self, and he hated himself for it.

“I owe you an explanation and an apology. I’m going to preface the entire conversation by saying that I’m not good at either one of those things and I’m sorry for that, too, do you want to sit?” Tony motioned behind him to the sitting area and large, overstuffed couches before making his way toward one and sitting down heavily. Darcy followed shortly after and settled softly on the opposite couch, as far from him as she could get, he observed. It felt like a physical blow.

Tony raked his hands through his hair again before he looked up at Darcy and tried to smile, although he was pretty sure it was more of a grimace. He dug a packet of papers out of his back pocket and tossed them onto the glass coffee table between them. “First, I haven’t been consciously trying to avoid you this week, Darcy, but I acknowledge that things have kept me away. I can assure you that every second that my head wasn’t filled with Nick Fury’s yelling or my legal teams droning, I was thinking about you. I should have done something to...make you aware. Flowers or something? I don’t know, I never said I was good at this,” He paused and chanced a look over at Darcy, but didn’t see much of a change in her demeanor. He forged ahead, pointing at the bundle of paperwork. “That is a contract between Stark Industries and SHIELD for two new Quinjets built using the updated schematics. It was going to be a surprise. Open it, please?”

Darcy reached across the table and grabbed up the papers to peruse. “Oh my Thor! Tony, these are my designs. You...incorporated my designs into your work?” She scrambled over to his couch and plopped down next to him pointing over and over at the parts of the schematics that were hers and staring at him with wide eyes.

“Our work, our schematics. I thought I’d told you before, but it sounds like I haven’t, so we’ll add that to the list of things I need to apologize for, but you’re fucking brilliant.”

“Tony…”

“Nope, stop right there, shortstack,” He held up a hand. “You’re incredibly intelligent and that is so damn hot, but I’m getting side tracked. Uh, you’re going to be compensated for your work and time on the Quinjet, it’ll be deposited into your account by tomorrow. The last couple pieces of paperwork in there are a patent application for your fuel injection system and a contract for you to work with me as a consultant, that means when you have time or when you want to. I’m not trying to steal you from Jane and Bruce, furthest thing from my mind, but I refuse to take anything that comes out of our play dates without you getting credit and paid accordingly, and some of the stuff you come up with, Darce, just can’t be left behind. You just need to sign them and I’ll have someone take care of the rest.” Tony stopped and breathed deep after what felt like a very long spiel. He looked over at Darcy, who was still clutching all the papers.

“So, you weren’t trying to avoid me?” She asked.

“God no. I had planned on begging for at least a lunch date by mid-week before all of this came up.”

She shook her head slowly. “I don’t know what to say, Tony.”

“So, don’t say anything,” He retorted. “Sign the contracts, or don’t, no pressure from me either way. Let me cook you dinner, or let me burn dinner and order something in. I’ll tell you how beautiful you look in that dress. Maybe you can stay and watch a movie with me and I’ll try not to be rude and fall asleep. Any of that sound good?”

Darcy braced one hand on the couch between them and leaned forward, touching her lips to his gently and then pulled back, a familiar smirk curling her lips. “Since when can you cook, Stark?”


	7. Chapter 7

Darcy let loose a jaw cracking yawn and thought about prying open her heavy eyelids. Thoughts of the night before came flitting back into her memory.

Tony had cooked for her. He had made her french toast. Darcy hadn’t known what to think. She had gone to the tower with the sole purpose of ripping him a new asshole. She had planned an entire how-dare-he speech, the whole nine yards, and then...she hadn’t needed it, not a single word. Instead, she had found herself eating surprisingly tasty french toast smothered with real maple syrup and rich butter while signing her first ever patent application for something she had engineered with her own brain, her own two hands. It had been exhilarating.

After the food had been consumed, Tony had tentatively taken her hand and pulled her back over to the truly massive and plush sofa where she now laid. They’d put on Netflix and he’d finally fallen asleep after an hour of Darcy watching him drift off only to jerk back awake a moment later. She’d finally gotten so frustrated that she’d slumped down a little lower into the cushions, curled her legs underneath her, and pulled Tony’s head down onto her lap. When he seemed to have trouble settling she’d kissed his forehead and proceeded to comb her fingers through the soft strands of his black hair until the tight muscles in his shoulders and back went lax and he fell soundly asleep.

Darcy cracked an eye and found bright morning sunlight streaming through the floor to ceiling windows directly into her face. She took a cursory glance at her surroundings. The only thing that seemed to have changed was her position on the opulent sofa. She was laying down now, a soft throw pulled over her accompanied by a warm weight curving over her stomach and pressed against her back. Darcy tilted her head to the side and discovered Tony snuggled up behind her, still snoring softly. She wanted to touch his face. Like this, when he was totally relaxed, there were no lines, no tension.  

Just then an alarm sounded, loud and insistent. Tony made a small noise of displeasure and his arm tightened around her middle. She watched his face scrunch up as he continued to grumble but refused to open his eyes. “Jarvis?” He croaked, his voice sleep slurred.

“Good morning, sir, it appears that there has been a call to assemble.” The AI informed him.

“Shhhhh…” he mumbled. “Don’wanna. Sleepy time with Shortstack.” She laughed softly as the man burrowed against her and tried to bury his face in the crook of her neck.

Jarvis pressed on, albeit with a lower volume. “Sir, I’m afraid Captain Rogers is being quite adamant that you join the team.”

Darcy turned over completely to face him and Tony’s eyes fluttered open. She raised a hand and stroked at the hair that had fallen across his forehead. “Hey, sleepyhead,” she said quietly. “Sounds like you have a job to do.”

“Sir, Ms. Romanoff is threatening to rouse you bodily if you aren’t present on the helipad within the next ten minutes,” Jarvis informed them.

Tony let out a small whine and cuddled against Darcy harder, slipping his chin over her shoulder as he started to rub her back in lazy circles. “Busy,” he murmured.

Darcy pulled back from Tony’s embrace a little ways and cast her gaze toward the ceiling. “Jarvis, tell the others he’ll be down and ready to rock in five minutes.” She looked back down at Tony.

“Traitor,” he accused her, his eyes narrowed, but a smirk on his lips.

“We both know you’d never forgive yourself for missing out on the action,” she joked as she caressed his stubbled cheek. “Com’on, rocket man, up and at ‘em.” Darcy rolled off the edge of the couch and rubbed her hands down body, making sure her dress was still covering...everywhere it was supposed to cover. Moments later Tony rocked himself up onto his feet and into her space.

“Will you be here when we get back?” He asked, his eyes flicked from hers down to her mouth and back. The low tone of his voice sent a shiver down Darcy’s spine. She nodded slowly and hummed a noise of assent. “Good, that’s...good,” Tony’s voice trailed off and he licked his lips.

“Oh, who am I kidding,” Darcy said and launched herself at him. To his credit, Tony didn’t miss a beat. He snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her flush against him while his other bracketed across Darcy’s back. She shoved her hands into his hair and pulled his mouth down to hers, kissing him with everything she had. Tony groaned low and swiped her full bottom lip with his tongue. She didn’t hesitate, opening her mouth and letting him deepen the kiss. His tongue caressed hers gently as they explored each other. Darcy had a fleeting thought that he tasted faintly of the sweet syrup from the night before. She found the taste of him intoxicating.

When Darcy pulled back they were both breathing erratically, lips red and and a little swollen. She rested her forehead against his. “You need to go,” She said and pressed another quick kiss to his lips. “Can’t have you making me a liar and I said five minutes.”

Tony chuckled and walked backwards toward the elevator, dragging Darcy with him, refusing to let her go. “Promise you’ll be here when I get back?” He asked again as she carefully pried herself from his grasp.

Darcy gave him one last lingering kiss. “I promise, now go and remember to be safe, Iron Man.” She shot him a saucy wink and pushed him into the elevator, waving as the doors closed.

 

oooOOOooo

 

Tony stumbled into the penthouse about six hours later, dirty and tired. The latest run in with Dr. Doom, robotic kittens that spit some sort of corrosive liquid, jeez that guy needed a new hobby, wrapped up with little incident and then came the long and exhaustive debriefing with SHIELD. He’d tried to quietly make his escape back to the tower immediately after the fighting had ended, but Steve had slapped on his disapproving face and Tony couldn’t say no. Saying no to Captain America with that face turned on was tantamount to kicking puppies.

As Jarvis extricated Tony from the suit the man ran through a mental to-do list. Eat something, he was half starved having not eaten anything since his improvised french toast with Darcy the night before. Take a shower, although the suit had a cooling system, it didn't mean Tony didn't sweat during a fight and at that moment he desperately needed to get clean. Darcy. Tony wondered in passing if he could talk Darcy into participation in the other two tasks...where was she?

"J, where'd Shortstack get off to?" He inquired.

"Miss Lewis is currently not in the tower, sir."

"What?!" Tony yelled. "Where is she? How long has she been gone?"

"I'm uncertain of her whereabouts, but she did mutter something about the need for clean clothing, sir. I believe she may have returned to her own home. She left the premises two hours and sixteen minutes ago," the AI stated, calm and collected as ever.

Tony swiped down his face with an open palm. “Jesus…” He withdrew his cell phone from his pocket and quickly dialed Darcy’s number. When she didn’t answer he left a frantic message and called back. Still nothing. He sent a few texts. “Can you ping the GPS in her phone, J? I need to know where it is and if it’s still on the grid.”

“Miss Lewis’ phone is not presently traceable, sir. It’s last known location was Miss Lewis’ address of residence. The last ping on the cellular network was roughly one hour ago.”

He began to pace as his mind wandering back to the battle and the fact that the swath of destruction bisected the route between the tower and Darcy’s apartment in Queens. There was every possibility that she could have been caught in the middle of everything on her way home. What if something had happened to her? What if she was hurt somewhere?

“I need to suit up, now,” Tony growled. Within seconds Tony was being securely locked within the Iron Man suit and sailing off the patio headed for Queens.

 

oooOOOooo

 

A loud and insistent pounding noise was what roused Darcy from her couch. She didn’t recall falling asleep. She had come home to shower and change before heading back to the tower to wait for Tony to return, but had sat down with her laptop to quickly check her tumblr and the next thing she knew she was being jolted awake by some psycho trying to break her damn door down.

“Hold your fucking horses!” She cried as she stumbled up from the couch, banging her toe against the coffee table in her haste.

She limped over to the door and threw it wide only to be greeted by the crimson and gold splendor that was Iron Man. Darcy squinted up at the faceplate, her glasses left behind on the couch in her haste to end the horrible noise. “Tony, ‘s’hat you?” She asked groggily.

The faceplate snapped up abruptly. “What the hell, Darcy?!” Tony yelled as he pushed his way into her tiny apartment. “Where is your phone? Didn’t you see I called? Why aren’t you at the tower? Do you have any idea how much danger you put yourself in? What were you thinking?!”

At the tirade Darcy fully awakened. “Phone is over there charging, the damn thing died this afternoon. See the prior comment about the dead phone for the answer on if I saw that you called. I’m not at the tower because I slept in my clothes last night, if you recall. I needed a shower, my tooth brush, and something that wasn’t that damn dress to slip into. The last two questions? I’m going to pretend you didn’t ask them so I don’t have to be angry about you treating me like a child because, whether you like it or not, Stark, I’m a grown ass adult and I do have the faculties to make my own decisions about where I go and when I go there.”

Tony raised an accusing finger at her. “You travelled right through the thick of everything to get here,” he gestured around her apartment. “You couldn’t just wait until I got back? Hell, Jarvis could have just bought you whatever you wanted!" Tony's voice got more quiet, the adrenaline finally leaving his system. "You could be dead, Darcy. I thought...when Jarvis couldn’t find your phone...You said you’d be there when I got back.”

“Tony sit down,” she instructed, but he refused to move other than lowering the finger he’d pointed at her. “Take a deep breath, dude." Darcy rested a palm against the suit's chest plate, directly over the arch reactor. "I waited until the fighting was over before I left the tower. I’m not an idiot. I’d been watching the news all morning. I would’ve been back before you even knew I was gone, but I kind of fell asleep by accident. The phone thing, I’m sorry about, but some things can’t be planned for, Tony. Sometimes batteries die,” Darcy stood on tiptoe and brushed her lips against his slightly chapped ones. “I’m sorry you were worried. It wasn’t on purpose, but I can take care of myself, I promise. I’ve been doing it nearly my entire life.”

Tony’s gaze was downcast and to Darcy he looked dead on his feet. “You should go back to the penthouse and get some rest, Tony.”

He shook his head gently. “Won’t be able to sleep,” he muttered.

“What if I come with you?”

“You'd do that?” he asked her incredulously.

“Seeing as it feels like the only way you’ll go to bed is if I pour you into one, yes, yes I’ll do that.”

Tony grabbed her around the waist and started to tug Darcy out the apartment door. “Woah!” she cried. “What’s the big idea?”

“I’m taking you back to the tower with me, duh,” Tony said, continuing to pull her toward the door.

“I can’t FLY with you Tony! What if you friggin’ drop my ass? Through my life I’ve aspired to be many things, a greasy spot on a New York sidewalk was not one of them. Phyllis is downstairs, I’ll drive her over and park her in your garage again, okay?”

“I would never drop you! I’ve never dropped Clint,” he paused, looking extremely uncomfortable. “I...don’t want to be away from you right now,” he confessed.

Darcy flicked his chest plate to get Tony’s attention. “Lucky for you that Phyllis has more than one seat. I’ll drive us both back.” She snatched up her enormous bag and took a cursory look around her apartment before pushing Tony out the door and locking it behind them.

Tony had been pliant the entire time Darcy was getting them situated within her ancient Volvo but as soon as she pulled into traffic he seemed to perk up slightly.

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this. If the press sees me in this rusted out deathtrap I’ll never live it down,” he joked as he played with the various knobs on the dashboard.

Darcy reached over and swatted at his hands. “Leave it, leave it! Also, I take offense to that. You know that I do all upkeep on her myself, she’s better than safe. And since when do you care what the press thinks?” She smirked at him and arched an eyebrow.

Due to the destruction caused by the altercation with Dr. Doom earlier in the day, traffic was reduced to a crawl. It took nearly an hour for Darcy to arrive at the tower and be waved through by security to Tony’s private garage. When she looked over she saw him slumped against the door, the faceplate to the suit still retracted. His eyes were closed and his breathing was deep and slow. Darcy smiled and snapped a quick picture with her phone. He must’ve fallen asleep during the commute, she thought, and really she couldn’t blame him. Tony had kept long hours during the week and then to be pulled out to physically fight robots, even if they did look like cuddly kitties, in order to keep a city safe, who wouldn’t be tuckered out?

She reached out and slowly ran her knuckles over the apple of Tony’s cheek. His eyes fluttered open and he gave her the most tired and unguarded smile she’d ever seen on his face. “You ready to go upstairs and get into what I’m sure is an insanely large and comfortable bed?”

“Are you propositioning me, Shortstack?” He asked groggily as he scrambled to work the door latch with his gauntlet still on, which proved to be quite the task.

Darcy hopped out of the car and walked around the opposite side to open the passenger door. “Nope,” she replied. “Although the plan does involve getting you out of the suit, it doesn’t have anything to do with me getting out what I’m wearing. I’m going to deposit you in bed and then probably go hang out with Jane so you can get some actual rest,” she explained as she helped him into the elevator and punched the button for the penthouse.

Tony made a disgruntled noise from behind her and Darcy felt solid melt arms wrap around her waist. Darcy started to chuckle. “Metal isn’t very cuddly, Stark.” He made more displeased grunts.

As soon as the elevator doors opened smoothy, Tony stepped around her and instructed his AI to divest him of his suit and store it per normal protocol. Before Darcy knew it, Tony was back to a tight black tee shirt and worn jeans. Darcy snagged one of his belt loops on her way by and dragged him down the one hallway she could see, assuming his bedroom lay beyond the large set of double doors at the end.

Her instincts were right, as were her thoughts about the size of Tony’s bed. The room done up in  warm earth tones and ivory. It looked warm and lived in. The bed was piled high with pillows and blankets she wanted to sink into. There was a large en suite bathroom attached and Darcy caught sight of a shower that would easily fit a small party of people in it at once.

Darcy caught his shoulders and carefully pushed Tony toward the bathroom. “Go get ready for bed.”

Tony attempted a leer, but didn’t have much luck due to his exhaustion. “Gonna come wash my back, Darcy?”

“If you’re good and go wash up and get ready for bed, I’ll stay with you for a little bit before hunting down Janey.” She told him. At that, Tony seemed to perk up a bit and offered her a small smile before disappearing into the confines of the bathroom and shutting the door behind him. Darcy listened for the shower to turn on before making her way over to the bed and turning it down. “Hey J?”

“How may I assist you, Miss Lewis?” The AI asked her.

“Could you darken the windows and please hold any calls for Mr. Stark unless they are of the utmost importance.”

“Of course, Miss Lewis, can I assist with anything else?”

“Engage privacy mode and then I think you’ve got the night off, J,” Darcy said as she smiled up at the ceiling. At that time, Tony stepped out of the bathroom, clad in dark boxer briefs and nothing else. Darcy gulped in a lung full of air and tried to stop the flush from springing to her cheeks. He just looked so good. Her fingers itched to map all of his newly exposed tan skin and wiry musculature. A sprinkling of dark, wiry hair over his chest and a small trail leading from his belly button downward to disappear beneath the waistband of his boxers...

Darcy jerked her eyes away from him before turning her back to him quickly and walked to the side of the bed, still trying to calm herself. She held the covers aloft and waved her hand toward the bed. “Com’on, I’m tucking you in,” she said after clearing the frog from her throat.

Tony plodded over and slid between the sheets with no hesitation into the middle of the enormous bed, pushing the pillows around until they made a pile he could lean his torso against. He reached out a hand to Darcy. “You said you’d stay,” he said softly.

Darcy nodded and carefully climbed up on the bed until she was next to him, on top of the covers. He pulled her against him, arranging her until her head was laid on his chest and his arm was wrapped securely around her. She felt him breathe deep then his muscles began to relax. “Thank you,” he whispered into her hair before pressing a kiss against the crown. Darcy wrapped her own arm around his middle and gave him a little squeeze.

The next time she checked, Tony was fast asleep. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for all of the kudos as well as the really amazing and encouraging comments this story has gotten. I appreciate each and every one of you and I'm still overwhelmingly happy that you're enjoying this train wreck.

"I don't know what I'm doing," Darcy said as she slumped into a rolling chair next to Bruce.

"Sitting," Bruce replied without his eyes leaving the microscope he was gazing into.

"Har har, Dr. Fluffenstein. I mean with he-who-shall-not-be-named…” she trailed off.

“Voldemort?” Bruce asked, still not looking up from whatever project he was working on today.

“Have you be taking lessons from him? Maybe an online course in irreverence? Oh god, is this what it’s like to talk to me constantly?”

He finally looked up from his workstation and withdrew the glasses from the bridge of his nose. “What is it that’s bothering you, Darcy?”

“I think I’m in trouble and I think he’s getting attached,” she murmured and looked down at her hands which were fidgeting in her lap. “I’m not sure what to do with either of those things.”

“Is it a bad thing if Tony is becoming attached to you?”

“I don’t tend to let people get that close…” she answered, her voice small and quiet.

Bruce wheeled his chair next to hers and took one of her hands. The action brought Darcy up short. She liked Bruce a great deal, he was always easy to talk to, he possessed a razor sharp wit and his dry sense of humor made it easy for her to enjoy his company. One thing about Bruce that everyone knew, though, was that he didn’t do casual touches. She knew that what he’d just done, cradling her hands in his, was a very big deal.

“Why do you lock yourself away, Darcy?” Concern laced his otherwise calm speech and creases rose on his forehead.

“People I care about, who care about me, end up worse for wear, doc,” she said simply. “I think he’s been through enough.”

“I don’t think he’s going to let you make that decision without him,” Bruce said and gave her hand a little squeeze. When Darcy looked up at him he wore a small, shy smile. “Do you think I sought him out? No, Tony decided he wanted to befriend me and gave me no choice in the matter regardless of the possible consequences. I told him over and over how dangerous it was to be around me, what happened each time I formed a connection with someone. I put up wall upon wall to keep him away and he climbed every single one of them. The more I tried to push him away, the more he forced his way into my everyday life. Now I live in his tower,” he shook his head in disbelief.

Darcy stood and started to pace around the lab space. “He keeps DOING things for me. I don’t know how to handle that. The space between us is enormous. I have nothing to offer him,” she insisted. “How am I supposed to keep this level, keep it fair?”

“Darce, you have more to offer than you think,” Bruce answered with a fond smile on his face before he turned and went back to work.

 

oooOOOooo

 

Tony rolled the creeper out from under the hot rod and sat up to wipe the grease from his hands. He’d been working on the car for the majority of the day, hoping in the back of his mind that Darcy may come calling and they could work together. He’d found in the past weeks that he loved working alongside her, watching the way her mind worked was fascinating and it certainly didn’t hurt that she was so beautiful it drove him to distraction.

He took a quick look to the clock on the wall and did a bit of internal math determining that it had been nearly twelve hours since he’d last eaten anything of substance. Tony climbed to his feet and made his way up from his private garage via the elevator to the common floor with his stomach finally making it’s plight known through a series of loud grumbling noises. He was planning to raid the communal fridge for any leftovers that had been abandoned and maybe see if anyone was around.

Although each of his friends and teammates had their own space in which to live, the communal floor was where everyone gravitated when they had down time and didn’t feel like passing it alone. Tony had taken special care when designing the floor, ensuring all entertainment needs would be met along with the state of the art kitchen and a dining area large enough to seat every member of the team and any guests for “family” dinners.

Tony ambled through the space and was surprised to find it vacant. Usually there was at least one person lounging or napping on the couches, but this time the area was eerily quiet. He rummaged through the fridge, finding some tandoori chicken to shovel into his mouth and decided that he’d go check in with Bruce or Jane in the labs, perhaps find where everyone was hiding themselves away.

When he arrived on the lab level and found that also a ghost town, Tony knew something was very wrong. “Jarvis? Where the hell did everyone run off to and why wasn’t I invited?” Tony groused.

“Captain Rogers and Mr. Odinson as well as Drs. Foster and Banner left with some haste two hours and twenty-seven minutes ago, after Dr. Foster received a call from New York Presbyterian Hospital, sir.”

Tony stopped in his tracks. “Was someone injured?” He asked, his voice tight.

“It does appear to be so, sir, would you like to listen to the incoming call?” Jarvis asked.

“Play it,” Tony ordered.

The audio from the call began playing from the hidden speakers nestled in the ceiling, saturating the room with sound.

 

_“Hello, may I please speak with Jane Foster?”_

_“This is she.”_   
_“Hi, Ms. Foster, my name is Melissa, I’m a nurse over with New York Presbyterian. We processed an emergency room intake earlier via ambulance transfer for a Darcy Lewis. She listed you as her emergency contact.”_

_“Oh God, what happened, is she okay?”_

_“I’m not sure of the circumstances behind her injuries but she asked that we call you, ma’am.”_

_“I’ll be right there.”_

 

“Jesus, Darcy’s in the fucking hospital?” Tony roared. “And nobody told me?!”

“If I may, sir,” Jarvis responded in his usual prim tone. “Those involved were sharing dinner in the communal area when the call to Dr. Foster was received. She was distressed and the others decided to accompany her. It seemed to be a rushed affair, I don’t believe they excluded you purposefully, sir.”

“Either way, I need to get there as fast as possible.”

 

oooOOOooo

 

When Darcy woke the first time she was surrounded by darkness and fog. Her body felt heavy with it and her muscles wouldn’t respond to her internal commands. She thought she heard voices and felt touches, light as a breeze, but she couldn’t seem to open her eyes. She fought against the heaviness for as long as she could, but eventually fell back into unconsciousness.

The second time Darcy woke, she could actually string a coherent thought together. Her eyes were heavy and still fighting her impulse to open them. She took a deep breath and couldn’t suppress the gasp that erupted from her lips. Her sides were on fire. Her eyes flew open from the shock of the pain radiating from what felt like everywhere.

Jane bent over and swam into the center of Darcy’s vision. “Darcy? Are you alright? Do you need me to get the nurse?”

Darcy continued to gasp for air and pained tears sprung to her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. She tried to wrap her arms around her torso and found it impossible due to the wires and tubes attached to her. “Holy fuck, it hurts,” she croaked, her voice sounded as if she’d been gargling glass and her throat didn’t feel like that was a far off estimate.

Jane reached over and pushed Darcy’s hair back from her sweaty forehead and wiped at the tear tracks on her face. “Slow breaths, Darce, some of your ribs are broken. Steve is getting the nurse and they’ll give you something for the pain.” Jane carefully held a straw to her lips. Darcy drank greedily, trying to soothe the ache in her throat.

Darcy wiggled in the hospital bed a little, trying to get more comfortable. “Up?” She asked, her speech slurred with sleep, her attention focused on her best friend. Jane let out a tiny laugh and pushed the button on the side of the bed to increase the incline of the back. Darcy winced a bit with the movement but was happy to be able to see around the room. She spotted Thor in the chair beside her bed, he offered her his usual enormous, sunny grin although she could see worry in the tightness around his eyes. Bruce was loitering outside the hospital room chatting with the doctor on duty, no guarantee if she was the subject of that conversation. Steve strode in shortly thereafter. His face was a mask of concern, his eyebrows hitched together and his lips turned down in a frown.

“Darcy, what on earth happened to you?” Steve asked and he seemed so sad that Darcy felt horrible although she’d done nothing wrong. She wondered if he was having flashbacks of being that little punk kid getting beat up in the back alleys of Brooklyn.

“I..uh, I was…”

At that moment a brief bout of yelling erupted out in the hallway. It seemed far away but got closer quickly. Tony flew past the window in the door, a blur of white tank top and dark jeans, and then doubled back, coming to a skidding halt and pressing his hands against the glass, his mouth agape. He rushed into the room, pushing past Steve and Thor’s bulk to get to the side of Darcy’s bed and grabbed her hand tightly in both of his. Tony’s hair stuck up in all directions from him pulling and running his fingers through it and his clothes were covered in dirty smudges and grease stains. “Thank fuck, you’re alright,” he breathed. He looked up and she saw pain shadow his eyes. “What did they do to you, Shortstack?”

“I’m going to guess, judging by how I feel like I got run over by a damn truck, that they beat me up pretty good,” Darcy rasped. “I was walking home after work and some jackholes followed me off the subway and tried to mug me. I got one of them with my taser, he went down like a sack of potatoes, but I didn’t have another cartridge so the other one pushed me down the alley and I think I smacked my head against the wall or something. Everything went real fuzzy around the edges and it sounded like I was underwater. Next thing I remember is being in the ambulance, a few snippets in the ER, and then when I woke up and here we are.”

“I’ll kill them,” Tony growled, more to himself than anyone else in the room. Darcy squeezed his hand.

“The police got them, Big Red,” Darcy said softly. “It’s all good.”

“There’s nothing about this that’s good, Darcy. Have you seen yourself? Did they tell you everything that asshole did to you?” He asked. “This is unacceptable” Tony leaned forward and kissed her forehead gently before he turned on his heel and left without a further word.

“That could’ve been worse, right?” Darcy asked Jane. The woman shrugged.

  


oooOOOooo

  


Darcy was in the hospital for two days following the attack. She had sustained a minor concussion, broken second and fourth ribs on her left side, bruised second and third ribs on her right, her attacker had focused on her face a bit so her right eye was swollen shut and he had blackened them both as well as split her bottom lip open, not to mention the myriad of abrasions and other minor bruises all over her body.

The police came to visit her again on her last day as an inpatient and were able to help her piece together the timeline of the attack. Darcy was also informed that a beat cop by the name of William Sharp was the one who happened on her being beaten and called the assault in and made the arrests, not to mention getting Darcy the medical help she so desperately needed at the time. She made a mental note to ask Jarvis to send the man a thank you card and get him a beer of the month membership or something.

Over the two days, all of the occupants of the tower came to visit her except one...Tony was no where to be seen. She didn’t know quite how to feel about that and the realization that apparently he wasn’t the only one that seemed to be getting attached. The situation confused Darcy even more than she’d been prior. She did her best not to dwell on the fact that she missed her quasi-insane engineer, opting instead to focus on the happiness of being released and allowed to leave the antiseptic smell of the hospital. She couldn’t wait to install herself on her rundown couch covered in ragged blankets with her Netflix queue.

It was raining when the taxi dropped Darcy off at the front of her building. She slowed ascended the stairs, needing to be careful not to jostle her midsection, which was wrapped tightly. She fiddled with the lock, shaking the key and finally gaining entry. The door swung open slowly, with a loud creak. Darcy stood motionless in the doorway, her mouth flapped uselessly as her eyes bulged. .

Where once everything that Darcy owned in the world sat was...nothing. The front room was empty. Bare. Not even a dust bunny in sight. Someone had taken it all.

Darcy rushed through the remainder of the apartment and found the bathroom and bedroom were exactly the same. There was absolutely nothing left. She slumped against the bedroom door jam and slid down to the floor, her legs refusing to offer her any further support. “This is just getting ridiculous.”

 

oooOOOooo

 

She wasn’t sure why she opted to contact Tony instead of, say, Jane, but nevertheless he was the one listed as the recipient of the text message she composed and sent off.

_I’ve been robbed._

It didn’t take long for a response to be received.

 _No you haven’t._ The message read. Darcy just stared at it. How would he know?! She took a picture of the room in which she sat, completely devoid of her belongings and sent it off.

_Then what do you call this? There used to be stuff here. It’s all gone. They even took the dirt._

The picture that came from Tony next caused all breathing on Darcy’s part to cease. It looked like a picture of her apartment a few days ago, right before she left to go work with Jane and Bruce, before her ordeal with the muggers and subsequent hospital stay. It showed her couch and TV, her appliances from the kitchen although the kitchen space itself didn’t look quite right.

 _Go downstairs, Happy is waiting_ , said the message that accompanied the picture.

 _When did you take a pic of my place?_ Darcy fired back.

Darcy heard a couple of curt car horn honks come from outside and she stood and grabbed up her huge purse, clutching it to herself. She had a passing thought that it was all she had left in the world and the thought brought her up short. Darcy hesitated for one more moment before stumbling down the steps and into the waiting SUV, climbing into the passenger seat next to Happy who took off down the street as soon as she had buckled her seatbelt.

They drove for a couple minutes in silence before Happy addressed her. “You know, normally people sit in the back,” he said casually.

“Why would I do that? I don’t want to talk to the back of your head,” she responded offhandedly.

He laughed, a bright sunny thing that made Darcy smile in spite of herself. “The only other person who ever sits in the front and chats with me when I drive is Tony.”

 

oooOOOooo

 

Tony meets Darcy in the parking garage and immediately grabs her bag out of her lap and pulls her out of the SUV by the wrist.

“Tony, please stop pulling, that hurts,” Darcy complains and he drops her arm looking positively horrified.

“Oh, fuck, I’m so sorry, Darce, I forgot. Are you alright? I didn’t...you’re okay? Should you really be out of the hospital?” He stammers.

“I’m okay, just no pulling,” she paused and rubbed at the tight bandage wrapped around her middle before walking into the elevator behind him. She leaned against the side of the cubicle heavily, feeling completely wrung out. “Is there a reason I’m here? I just got out of the fucking hospital after being beat the hell up and I just found that everything I have to my goddamn name has been stolen,” she sighs. “I’m so tired.”

“I’m going to make it better, Shortstack,” Tony says and sweeps a hand over the side of her still bruised face. He said it with such conviction that Darcy sort of melted a little inside. She had Jane and had Thor, they’re her family and they’re all she’s had for a while. Before Jane and Thor Darcy’s family was...Darcy. Long story short, she’d gotten used to people wanting things from her not wanting things for her. The fact that Tony is convinced that he can provide her something positive makes her stomach flip flop. It also makes her see that HE could be something good for her.

Tony had Jarvis stop the elevator on a floor that Darcy was unfamiliar with. “This is a floor below the residential floors right? Steve and Sam’s places are above us.” He nodded and beckoned her forward with both of his hands, practically bouncing on his feet, he was so excited. His grin was huge, edging on manic.

He strode down the hallway and plucked a set of keys from his pocket which he then slid into the lock on a door that had a welcome mat outside it that looked suspiciously like Darcy’s. Tony turned to face her. “Ready?”

“For what?”

Tony swung the door open. “Home.”

Darcy gasped, and then winced due to the pain the sudden intake of breath caused. She was looking at a near-replica of her Queens apartment. The largest and most apparent difference was the size. This space was...gigantic. She could’ve easily fit two, maybe even three of her places in there. And, of course, there was no suspicious mold. Darcy couldn’t fathom how he’d managed to get his hands on things that looked exactly like hers, especially with most of her belongings being picked up as second-hand from flea markets and the thrift stores. Shit like hers wasn’t sold in any department stores.

Later, she’d blame the pain medication she was on for the amount of time it took her to realize what he’d done.

Darcy leveled her eyes on Tony where he stood in the center of the main room with his arms outstretched like a glorified Vanna White. “You didn’t…” she murmured.

“I brought all your things over, that’s what I meant when I said you weren’t robbed,” Tony explained, the words flew from his mouth in rapid succession and his eyes were shiny with barely repressed excitement. “These suites had just been sitting here unoccupied and it seemed like such a shame to waste them.”

“Tony you didn’t even ask me first.” Darcy said.

He stepped in front of her and placed his hands on her hips, guiding her over the threshold and into the center of the room where he’d previously stood. “I need to know you’re safe. I can’t...I can’t handle the thought that I...that WE...could’ve lost you. I need you here, with me.”

“This is a huge deal, Stark,” Darcy could feel her anxiety rising and her hands started to shake. “You went into my apartment and MOVED me. Now, I understand that in some strange, warped way, this is you showing that you care about me. I understand that. But the fact remains that you uprooted my life without asking my permission,” Darcy hung her head, “Fuck, you or people you hired, went through my private things. You know what, though? I don’t even care that you guys probably handled my vibrator and panties, I’m pissed that you didn’t ask me about this, Tony.”

Tony looked nervous. “I only did it for your safety, Darcy.”

“And you didn’t ask because….”

“You wouldn’t have said yes,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Damn right, I wouldn’t have said yes!” She yelled and again cursed the fact that her ribs were broken, she backed out of his grasp and put her hands of defensively. “I can’t do this. I can’t make this up. We can’t be equal like this.”

“You don’t owe me anything for this, I’d never ask you for anything,” Tony insisted, his brows knit together.

“I..can’t deal with this right now,” Darcy said and made her way for the door. “I’ll stay with Jane until I find a way to get my stuff out of here.”

Tony scrambled after her. “Please, Shortstack, just stay here or if not here, come up to the penthouse with me. We can talk about this, right?”

“This,” Darcy paused and waved her hands around to encompass the entire room. “This isn’t about me, Stark, this is about you and what you want. This stopped being about me the moment your brain told you that you wouldn’t get what you wanted if you talked to me about this. I think we should stay away from each other for a while, Tony,” Darcy said softly before she walked back through the front door and closed it behind her with a click.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we have the final chapter.  
> Notice the change in the rating, kiddos.  
> Buckle up for Gus' awkward go at smutty smut!
> 
> As always, unbeta'd and all mistakes are all on me.

“You miss him.”

“Shut your face, Janey,” Darcy called over the music.

“ _Sugar In My Bowl,_ Darcy? Nina Simone means you miss him,” her best friend chided as if it was the most logical sentence to ever be uttered. There was a pause followed by muted crunching. “Is it so horrible to have someone that wants to keep you safe?” Jane asked as she alternated between nibbling on the corner of a cracker and staring at it like it held the secrets to the nine realms.

“He doesn’t want to just keep me safe, Janey, he wants me locked away in his tower like some half assed Rapunzel rip-off,” Darcy replied from under a hulking machine that happened to be leaking coolant from an unspecified source. “I’m not a princess that needs to be rescued and he’s not a prince arrived to save the day. Hand me that drain pan.”

Jane kicked over the plastic dish Darcy had blindly pointed in the vague direction of and it thudded into Darcy’s lycra clad thigh. She reached down and slid it under the machine she’d been distracting herself with for hours upon hours every day of the past week. Ever since shit had gone sideways with a certain Mr. Anthony Stark.

After her confrontation with Tony, Darcy had retreated to Jane and Thor’s apartment and had co-oped their couch as her own personal homeless shelter, not that she slept much. Every waking hour was spent building some random new machine Jane had mentioned months ago in passing that the scientist probably had absolutely no need for. With project specs in her head and a wrench or screwdriver in hand, Darcy’s focus narrowed to nothing but the machinery in front of her, the metal at her fingers, the hydraulic fluid and coolant on her skin.

She didn’t acknowledge any pain from her injuries as they finished healing and the bruises faded to nothingness, just continued to work until she was too exhausted to keep her eyes open any longer and collapsed into dreamless sleep wherever she happened to be at the time. Two nights in a row she’d passed out under the very machine she had been hammering on, tools still clutched in her hand and safety goggles nestled onto her face. Anything to keep her mind from the fact that although she was angry with Tony’s high-handedness, she’d begun to miss him and his stupid, adorable face. Anything to stop the nagging doubt in the back of her brain that maybe she’d made a mistake.

Truth be told, Darcy had been expecting Tony to launch assault after assault on her well maintained walls following their argument, but he remained suspiciously absent. The first couple of days in the lab, she’d stiffen any time the door opened, thinking it would be him, come to try to reason with her. But it never happened.

She hadn’t been back to the suite that Tony had made into a near-replica of her Queens apartment, not even for clean clothes. Instead she bought new underwear and stole bits from her friend’s wardrobes. Oversized plaid lumberjack shirts and tees from Thor, sweat pants and a hoodie from Steve, yoga pants from Jane that Darcy had stretched out enough that the waifish woman would never be able to wear them again.

“Did you ever wonder if maybe he’s trying to even things out, Darce?” Jane asked, interrupting Darcy’s thoughts.

At that, Darcy slid the creeper out, sat up and stared at where her best friend was sat on the top of her desk kicking her feet like a happy child. “Whaddya mean?”

“You’re always talking about making things even, balancing the scales so nobody owes anyone anything, maybe Tony feels the scales are tipped too much toward him and he’s trying to get you two on even footing,” Jane said and offered up a little shrug before shoving the rest of her nibbled cracker into her mouth.

“What could I have possibly given him that would warrant all that,” Darcy asked and pointed up at the ceiling to indicate the apartment that stood vacant except for all of her belongings a couple floors above them.

“Maybe you should ask him.”

 

oooOOOooo

 

Darcy stood on her welcome mat at the door of “her” apartment and took a deep breath. She’d decided that Jane was right, a conversation needed to happen with Tony and Darcy was a damned adult, right? She could instigate that conversation. She’d also decided that before that little talk took place, she wanted to be clean and in clothes that hadn’t been cobbled together from her friend’s closets.

“J-man?” She asked tentatively, addressing the ceiling.

“Hello, Ms. Lewis, how may I be of assistance?”

“Uh, I don’t have keys to this place, could you...y’know...let me in?”

“Of course, Ms. Lewis,” JARVIS replied and Darcy heard the click of the locking mechanism. The door swung open silently.

“Thank you,” Darcy replied and walked into the middle of the apartment. She once again scanned the rooms, looking at her things spread out in the new space. Suddenly, she wanted nothing more than to simply sink into her broken down old couch, cuddled under her ratty afghan and sleep for days, but she now had questions she needed answers to. Thanks a ton, Janey.

She walked slowly across the suite and stopped short in front of what she assumed would be the door to her bedroom based on the layout of her furniture and how things had previously been arranged in Queens. It felt surreal. Memories from her old apartment transferred themselves here to play out in her brain. Baking cookies in the kitchen, marathon streaming sessions on the couch, even spending time with Tony, they all seamlessly played back in this space like it was the original, and not a facsimile constructed by a billionaire. The only thing that gave away the fact that she wasn’t actually in her old apartment was the extra space and that the floors didn’t groan and squeak under her feet with every step. The lack of malfunction felt wrong, like the whole place was broadcasting that it was too good for her.

After twisting the knob, which didn't screech in protest, the impostor, for the presumed bedroom and pushing the door open Darcy marveled again at the strangeness that stood in front of her. Everything was artfully arranged; her bed pushed up against the wall, the doors to her closet left ajar, her clothes even looked like they’d been haphazardly arranged hanging in the closet like they had before, some half on, half off their respective hangers. Darcy’s eyes swept the room again and froze as she found the one thing that was not previously a part of her bedroom.

Tony was curled on his side, his knees tucked up toward his chest. He faced away from the entryway and was situated smack dab in the middle of her bed. She could hear his slow, deep breathing, indicating that he was fast asleep.

Darcy shook her head but tiptoed into the room and over to the closet to retrieve a clean tee shirt and pair of jeans. She wanted to talk to the man currently taking a nap in the room, but she still refused to do it when her last shower was over 48 hours prior. She was covered in smudges of mechanical fluids and random metal shavings littered her hair from her foray into case fabrication earlier in the day. Cutting the sheet metal and then welding the pieces together had given Darcy more of a clear head than anything else had that week.

She was carefully shuffling back to the doorway when she heard the telltale snuffling of a waking Tony Stark to her left. Darcy stopped dead in her tracks, even going as far as to hold her breath. She jerked her head toward the slumbering man and found a pair of hazy, whiskey brown eyes trained on her.

“What’re you doing here?” He asked her, his voice slurred and rough with sleep.

Darcy waved the bundle of clothing in her hands. “Clean clothes, shower. You?”

Tony shoved his face further into her pillows. At first she didn’t think he would answer her question, that he’d opted to go back to sleep, but when he stopped burrowing into her lumpy pillows he responded with his eyes still closed. “Smells like you.”

Darcy stopped her statue impression and made her way over to the bed instead of beating a hasty retreat like her brain was screaming for her to do, perching on the side. “I wanted to look a little better, you know, be clean, before we had this conversation,” she started. Tony’s eyes fluttered open to look at her.

“Can’t look better,” he mumbled. “Beautiful like this.” He reached up and ran a finger over a smudge of something on her cheek.

Darcy could feel the blood rush to her cheeks to bloom a fierce blush across her face. “Why did you do this, Tony?”

“Already told you, smells like you. Tried to sleep on the couch in the penthouse, but it didn’t smell like us anymore, so I came here. Figured you wouldn’t care because you didn’t want it.”

“Not the sleeping, all this,” Darcy waved a hand around her. “Why did you do all this? How do I make this fair?”

Tony pushed himself up until he was sitting next to her on the side of the bed. “You always bring up the making things even…”

“And you always say you would never ask me for anything,” Darcy retorted.

“And I never would. You’d never owe me anything. I could give you all the money, the company, the suits, everything, Darcy, and you’d still never owe me a damn thing,” Tony said with conviction.

“I don’t understand,” Darcy said dumbly. Tony reached over and took one of her grimy hands in his. He stroked over her fingers with his. She wanted to take her hand back, but found she didn’t have the willpower to do so.

“You’re one of the only people I’ve known who doesn’t tiptoe around me, want anything from me,” Tony told her softly. “I can count those people on one hand. You want to be with _me_ and that’s all, that tips the scales to your side and I’ll never be able to give you enough of anything to make up for it. Giving you free rein in the garage, inviting you to play with schematics, keeping you safe, it’s all just a drop in a bucket that I’ll never be able to fill.”

Darcy squeezed Tony’s hand. “I care about you, Tony, of course I want to be with you. You don’t need to give me things for spending time with you. You’re more than enough.”

“If nothing is expected of me, why is something expected of you? If I’m enough for you, why can’t you believe that you’re more than enough for me?” Tony demanded.

“Because you can do better!” Darcy said fiercely. “Nobody’s ever put up with me for nothing, Stark. If I wasn’t the reason people were getting checks from the state, I was a punching bag to take out a bad fucking day on. I learned to offer things before they could make requests so I could at least control what I had to give. I just can’t figure out what the hell it is you want from me!” Darcy could feel her eyes prickling, the tears threatened to form and overflow. Before that could happen Tony tangled his fingers into Darcy’s mess of brown curls and crushed their lips together. He kissed her like a man half starved, swallowing her whimpers greedily before pulling back to leave them both panting.

“You’re all I want, all I need, just….just you, Darcy,” he said over and over, punctuating each iteration with another kiss, each softer and more lingering than the last. “Please.”

He dropped his forehead against hers, finally untangling his fingers from her hair to brush it back from her flushed face and caress her cheeks. “Believe me. What can I give you, what do I have to do to make you believe me, Darce?” He whispered, still close enough for his lips to brush against hers with every word spoken.

Darcy tossed a leg over Tony’s lap and shifted until she straddled his legs, his hands settled on her full hips, his grip firm to help steady her. “You really mean it, don’t you,” she said and looped her arms around his neck. Tony looked up at her and nodded.

“You’re more than I could ever deserve,” he said earnestly.

A brilliant grin spread across Darcy’s face. “Right back atcha, big red.”

Tony tightened his grip on her hips and twisted, toppling her back onto the bed and coming to rest in the cradle of her thighs before attacking the slim column of her neck with open mouthed kisses, all the while making silly growling noises. Darcy laughed loudly, the hair of his beard tickling the sensitive skin only for the sound to change into a whimper as Tony sucked a bruise onto her collar bone.

“You can’t possibly know how much I need you. I can’t stop thinking about you. I’ve slept in your bed for the past week,” Tony said, his voice still muffled from being pushed against the crook of her neck. His breathing was erratic but his hands stroked slowly over her hoodie encased curves.

Darcy gripped the hem of his tee shirt and pulled at it, struggling to try to take it up and over Tony’s head. “I think you’d be surprised. You drove me to fabrication,” Darcy said, treating Tony to a large smirk when he reared back to arch an eyebrow at her. She tugged at his shirt again. “Off?”

He huffed out a laugh and yanked the offending garment up and over his head, tossing it down to the floor. Tony’s hair was stood on end in all directions and Darcy couldn’t resist running her fingers through the wildly arranged strands before pulling him down to lick at the seam of his lips which opened to give her free access. A low groan sounded from deep within his now bare chest.

The kiss seemed to short out Tony’s brain for a time. As far as he was concerned, his sole purpose for being on the planet was to lick, suck and nip at Darcy’s mouth, to pour every ounce of feeling he had for her into those kisses. In response, Darcy’s hips started to rock underneath him, grinding shamelessly against the bulge in his jeans. Tony ran a hand down to her backside and pulled her roughly against him, ripping a gasp from her throat.

“Too many clothes,” Darcy panted against his mouth.

Tony pulled back and stared down at her. Her eyes were hooded, heavy with arousal and her pupils were blown wide. Darcy’s lips were red, swollen and spit slicked from their kissing. Her cheeks were flushed a beautiful shade of pink and smudged with dirt or oil. Her hair was a tangled halo of chocolate spread across the mattress with little bits of silver catching the light like stars. He ran a finger over the mark he’d sucked into the pale skin of her throat. It had blossomed into a deep purple and caused a single thought to flicker through his brain on a loop. Mine.

“So damn gorgeous,” Tony breathed and Darcy smiled up at him fondly.

“Look who’s talking, babe,” she drawled and unzipped her borrowed sweatshirt before attacking the button of Tony’s jeans. “Now, if we could get naked, I think we could come up with a couple ways to show our mutual admiration for each other’s bodies…”

Tony barked out a laugh but rose enough to kick off his own pants before hooking his fingers into Darcy’s and tugging them down and off, followed swiftly by her hoodie and plaid button down. He resettled between her legs and started to pepper wet, open mouthed kisses across all of the newly exposed skin as Darcy reached behind herself to unclasp and toss away her bra.

With a groan of appreciation Tony latched onto one dusky nipple, teasing it with his lips and tongue before sucking it to hardness and lavishing the same treatment on it's twin. Tony kissed, licked and nibbled his way down Darcy’s torso, stopping to dip his tongue into her belly button before he detoured to nip playfully at her hips and down her legs. He pulled at the waistband of her panties with his teeth and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively causing her to giggle down at him.

“You’re ridiculous,” she said with a wide grin.

“That’s not a no,” Tony sang and slid her panties down and off her legs with a swift motion before she could protest, not that she had planned to. Darcy was on fire for this man. She was reasonably certain that he could have asked for her first born at that point and she’d have said yes without a moment's pause as long as he continued touching her.

Tony went back to kissing around her legs, concentrating on the inside of her knees before moving up her inner thighs with little sucking bites. Darcy sighed at each wet press of his lips against her skin. Her hips canted off the bed as she felt Tony’s calloused fingers tease her damp folds, running up and down her slit before lightly circling her clit, causing her to gasp. “More, Tony, please,” she begged before she choked off groan as he slipped those fingers down and into her opening and crooking them just right to make her see stars.

A litany of praise fell from Tony’s lips as he continued to work Darcy toward orgasm with clever fingers. “So good, amazing, so beautiful. Let go for me, gorgeous, let me see you.” Whimpers fell from Darcy’s lips and increased in intensity as Tony added his lips and tongue to his task. Darcy’s body shuddered and shook under his ministrations until she peaked, turning his name into a long, drawn out moan as she fell apart at his hand.

Tony crawled up her body as she floated down from her high and began all over again, lacing her shoulders, neck, between her breasts with kisses and licks. Darcy practically purred under his attention. He felt her shift and when he lifted his head from the space between her breasts saw her stretching toward her bedside table and removing a little foil packet from the drawer which she held out to him. She met his gaze. “Want you,” she said, her voice was rough from crying out. “Now.”

Tony needed no further invitation. He gave himself a few cursory strokes before ripping the foil square open and sliding the latex down his shaft. He positioned himself at Darcy’s entrance and looked to her for permission. She nodded quickly, grabbed his hips and tried to pull him closer to where she wanted him. They both moaned at the feeling of him pushing into her to the hilt in a single smooth slide. Tony allowed her a moment to adjust to the feeling before beginning to slowly rock into her. Darcy rolled her hips and met each thrust, coaxing him deeper. She wrapped her arms around Tony's lean, muscled back and her legs around his hips to anchor his body to hers.

Their sweat slick bodies slid with an instinctive and powerful rhythm, Tony’s thrust grew harder, faster as they clung to one another. The room was filled with the sounds of loving sighs, impassioned moans, pleasured groans and cries for more. They poured their feelings for one another into every caress, every kiss, every breath and when they climaxed, it was each others names that tumbled from their lips.

Tony collapsed to the mattress, pulled Darcy into his side and brushed her hair back from her forehead before pressing his lips there. “Okay?” he asked softly. She let out a hum of contentment and nuzzled into the side of his neck. “I hate to ask, but does this mean you’re staying?”

“We need to have a discussion about boundaries,” Darcy said and muffled a yawn with her hand. “But I think I could be convinced to stay.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “Out of curiosity, what would you have done if I’d moved back to Queens?” She asked and pulled back to look at Tony’s face. A blush spread across his cheeks all the way up to the tips of his ears.

“I..may have...you know...bought the building…”

Darcy gaped at him. “Are we talking in hypotheticals here or…”

Tony stared resolutely at the ceiling, refusing to meet her eyes. “Real estate is a good investment,” he hedged.

“Tony.”

“Fine, I bought it the day you said no,” he mumbled.

“Jesus,” Darcy said and dropped her chin onto his chest in resignation.

“The mold, Shortstack! Sentience! It was plotting world domination, I could tell!”

As Tony continued to babble about the possibility of the black mold from her old apartment building becoming the next villainous super power the Avengers would be called to face, Darcy simply rolled her eyes affectionately before interrupting him. “Hey, Tony?”

“Yeah, Shortstack?” His fingers absently traced nonsense patterns into her back.

“Want to help me finish that new machine in Jane’s lab? I feel like making beautiful mechanical music together.”

His hand stopped moving and then gave her bare bottom an indulgent little squeeze followed by a playful swat. “Hell yes, let’s go. Where are my pants?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to thank you all for reading and supporting my first foray into fanfic. I've enjoyed myself immensely and the comments and kudos really kept me going when my muse for this story turned into a stubborn ass and then when RL just made it impossible to find time to write. Thanks for hanging in there, I appreciate you!


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